Market Women in a Post Conflict Environment: Agency and Empowerment for Women in Jos, Nigeria.

Abstract

Violent conflicts always pose serious threats to
livelihoods of people, especially women. Interestingly,
conflicts also open up economic opportunities in the
informal sector, and it can subsequently lead to the
empowerment of people in the society especially
women, which is against the idea that conflict always
affects economic activity. This study explored how violence has opened up opportunities and empowered
women in conflict. This study relied on personal interviews with 15 market women in two vegetables
markets in Jos. The findings of the study show that market women are able to remake their stories from that
of victimhood to empowerment. They did this by employing strategies such as reliance on social networks
and diversifying income generating activities. Opportunities were opened up for more women to gain
access and improve their livelihood, which in turn changed gender relations and opened up a better position
for them in market relations. They also highlighted some challenges, such as limited access to credit and markets.
This study recommended that government should support women’s economic empowerment to easily
access soft loans and build market infrastructure.