As the world commemorated the International Women’s Day 2026, leaders and groups across northern Nigeria intensified calls for women’s empowerment, protection, and inclusion. Government officials, humanitarian organisations, and community leaders also emphasised the urgent need for practical policies, social protection, and opportunities that enable women and girls—particularly those in conflict-affected, displaced, or vulnerable communities—to thrive. Focusing first on the state’s leadership, in Kano, Governor Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to promoting gender inclusion and empowering women. In a statement signed by his spokesperson, Sunusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, the governor described women as the backbone of society, whose contributions to families, communities, governance, and economic growth are invaluable. Arewa PUNCH reports that Governor Yusuf highlighted his administration’s focus on policies and programmes that expand women’s access to education, healthcare, vocational skills, entrepreneurship, and participation in governance. He commended women across Kano State for their resilience, dedication, and vital roles in building strong families and communities. “Our administration will continue to create opportunities for women to excel in every sector of society. “We recognise their critical contributions and are committed to ensuring that they are supported to reach their full potential,” Governor Yusuf said. He urged stakeholders, development partners, and community leaders to continue supporting policies that safeguard women’s rights and broaden opportunities for advancement. Similarly, from northern Nigeria’s humanitarian perspective, in Gombe, the SOS Children’s Villages Nigeria called on government and humanitarian agencies to strengthen protection systems for women and girls affected by conflict, displacement, and climate-related disasters. The organisation noted that women and children constituted nearly 80 per cent of Nigeria’s internally displaced population, largely due to insurgency in the North-East and banditry in the North-West. “Women and girls in conflict-affected areas face systemic exposure to gender-based violence, including abduction, trafficking, and forced marriage used as tactics of war,” said Eghosa Erhumwunse, National Director of SOS Children’s Villages Nigeria. “Progress toward gender equality must move beyond symbolic commitments; structural reforms, survivor-centred justice, and practical protection measures for vulnerable women and girls are urgently needed.” Meanwhile, in Bauchi, the state government, in collaboration with UNICEF, emphasised the need to protect and promote women’s rights during the celebrations. Dr Nuzhat Rafique, Chief of the UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, noted that women frequently face denial of justice, restricted access to healthcare, nutrition, and reproductive services, and are disproportionately affected by early marriage, teenage pregnancy, and displacement. Dr Rilwanu Mohammed, the Executive Chairman of the Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Board, observed, “In communities affected by conflict, women often shoulder the responsibility of caring for families alone, coping with trauma, loss, and economic hardship. “It is imperative that we strengthen security, provide community support, and expand programmes that enhance women’s access to education, health, and livelihoods.” Additionally, from the Northwest, in Sokoto State, the Gender Educators and Empowerment Initiative has raised the alarm over rising malnutrition among women and children in Internally Displaced Persons camps. The founder, Shafa’atu Suleiman, attributed the crisis to insecurity, limited access to nutritious food, poor maternal healthcare, inadequate sanitation, and trauma from displacement. She urged immediate intervention, stressing, “We must provide emergency food support, maternal and child health services, nutrition education, and improved water and sanitation facilities. “Long-term solutions, including vocational training, small business support, agricultural recovery initiatives, and meaningful inclusion of displaced women in decision-making, are essential to break this cycle of vulnerability.” In Katsina state, SOS Children’s Villages Nigeria has called for urgent reforms to protect women and girls living in conflict-affected and disaster-prone communities across the country. This was contained in a statement by the organisation’s National Director, Eghosa Erhumwunse, and made available to newsmen on Monday in Katsina to mark the global celebration themed “Rights. Justice. Action. For All Women and Girls”. He said that since the onset of protracted conflict, violent extremism, and the escalating climate-conflict nexus in Nigeria, women and girls have continued to bear a disproportionate burden of instability. According to him, “Today, Nigeria hosts over 3.4 million internally displaced persons, a figure driven by both insurgency in the North-East and rampant banditry in the North-West—with women and children constituting nearly 80 per cent of this vulnerable population. “In these volatile settings, women face systemic exposure to gender-based violence, including abduction, trafficking, and forced marriage used as a tactic of war. “Humanitarian assessments indicate that at least one in three women in these zones experiences physical or sexual violence, often exacerbated by the lack of gender-segregated sanitation facilities and safe access to water points. Furthermore, the collapse of local justice mechanisms and the loss of legal documentation leave displaced women in a ‘protection gap,’ where fragile systems translate directly into the systemic violation of their fundamental rights. “As the world marks International Women’s Day 2026 under the theme ‘Rights. Justice. Action. For All Women and Girls,’ we are reminded that for those in Nigeria’s most volatile regions, protection remains far below acceptable standards,” he said. He further explained that progress toward gender equality can no longer be symbolic; it must be structural. “Rights without enforcement are merely promises on paper; justice without accessibility—especially for the displaced and rural poor—is a form of exclusion; and action without accountability leaves the most vulnerable to navigate fragile systems alone. True equality requires moving beyond rhetoric to the robust financing and policing of the frameworks meant to protect them. “For women and girls living in humanitarian, conflict-affected, and disaster-prone communities in Nigeria, these truths are lived realities. Emergencies intensify existing inequalities,” he said. Arewa PUNCH further reports that the 2026 International Women’s Day theme, “Give to Gain”, underscores the importance of investing in women’s health, education, economic empowerment, and protection as a strategy for sustainable social and economic development. Experts further highlighted that women continue to play critical roles in sustaining communities, often acting as first responders during crises by organising food networks, providing psychosocial support, and stabilising families. Collectively, the authorities, humanitarian organisations, and community leaders reaffirmed their commitment to protecting women’s rights, promoting gender equity, and ensuring that women and girls in northern Nigeria—including conflict-affected and displaced populations—have access to justice, education, healthcare, and opportunities to reach their full potential.