Today’s announcement by the Nigerian lower legislative chamber partly rescinding last week’s decision to throw out of five key gender-equality bills is a significant victory for women’s rights advocates in the region. It is also evidence that well-coordinated political pressure by civil society organizations can produce real change.

In September 2018, there were reports that Nur was murdered by his own faction because he was too “soft”, that he misappropriated ransom money, and even that he might have been open to a dialogue with the Nigerian government. In late February 2018, ISWA reportedly replaced al-Barnawi with Abu Abdullah Ibn Umar al-Barnawi.

This is a guest post by Alex Thurston. Alex is the author of  Salafism in Nigeria: Islam, Preaching, and Politics, and is an assistant professor at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Ser…

The interview—Falmata’s first—took place in the village of Shekau in Yobe state. VOA notes the village’s isolation and how villagers avoid mentioning it is the birthplace of Abubakar Shekau.

Welcome to “Women Around the World: This Week”. This week’s post highlights the top news stories of 2019 and was compiled by Rebecca Turkington and Alexandra Bro.