Undressing to Confront the Bullet: Nigeria’s Niger-Delta Women Mobilizing against Malpractices and Violence in the 2019 Rivers State Gubernatorial Elections

Abstract

Election crises have derailed democratic propensities in developing countries, including Nigeria. One of the consequences of electoral crises is its attendant effect on the vulnerable population, particularly children and women who are usually the most affected. This article examines how some women deployed non-violent means of undressing as a weapon of social resistance against violence and malpractices during the 2019 gubernatorial elections in Rivers State - an oil rich area in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The study adopts the qualitative methodology and relies heavily on secondary data which includes extant and relevant literature, newspaper, and verified video clips. The article is anchored around the frustration-aggression and the J Curve theories. Findings show that while the women resistance movement through the use of unconventional method of nudity or display of nakedness may pose some serious ideological concerns in certain quarters and violent responses from state and non-state actors, its success in thwarting electoral malpractices at the Okirika and Ogu/Bolo areas during the 2019 gubernatorial elections in Rivers State is worth emulation. The study therefore concludes that, since the deployment of nudity as a form of non-violent means of protest has been effective in this particular instance in Rivers State, it could be further complemented with sustainable efforts from civil society organisations, international community, and other stakeholders to ensure that the ruling elite embrace the tenets of good governance for the benefit of all and sundry in the country.