Mitigating Hegemonic Masculinity Among Young Men Aged 18-35 In North-West Nigeria

Abstract

The thrust of this project proposal is to mitigate hegemonic masculinity among young men in northwest Nigeria from the age of 18-35 years. Hegemonic masculinity is a branch of masculinity that exacts dominance over other forms of masculinity. Its reverence for ideals such as “Be the Man” economically, socially and religiously has posed huge challenges for both men and women. For the men, it has led to frustration and in most extreme times suicide attempts, and for women, it has disadvantaged and enhanced violence against them. 
    The norm of men as breadwinners and financiers of the household justifies the attribute of being a man in Nigeria, especially in the northwest parts of the country. The inability to match up to this attribute has constituted a huge menace and has resulted in drunkenness, violence, and other forms of domineering attitudes against others to meet up with this expectation. These attitudes in young men often result in violence against women, (domestic and sexual). In northwest Nigeria, 70% of women are restricted to their homes, thereby hindering their contribution to the economic development of the household and making them solely dependent on the men to provide. This dependency, coupled with men’s inability to meet the family’s demands, has further contributed to the rise in domestic and sexual violence.
    This project will adopt Gender Transformative, Social norm and Intergenerational approaches for her implementation to deconstruct these ideas of hegemonic masculinity by inculcating new ideas through dialogue, training, workshops, advocacies, MDDs, role models interactions, media (radio, posters and TV shows), intergenerational conversations and lobbying for them to be more inclusive. The target population for this project, are young men aged 18 to 35, but that does not imply that a percentage of women will not be included. The project will be implemented in the 7 states that make up northwest Nigeria. The work period for this project is five years with room for extensions. In the first year, the project will be implemented in one state to ascertain the validity of the tools and approaches, and to reduce risks. Other states will be split accordingly for three (3) years (2 states per year). The last year will be used for the evaluation of the project to ascertain the extent to which the project has impacted the people.
    Stakeholders’ involvement is key to the successful implementation of this project. Religious institutions (Christian and Muslim), Cultural institutions, policymakers (State and Local government) and Bar Owners, Non-governmental organizations, and community-based organizations will play critical roles in the actualization. At the evaluation stage of the project, the number of reported cases of violence in the states should have been reduced and a high percentage of young men that understands the role of men as allies should have grown considerably.