A Theoretical Framework for Understanding Gendered Pathways into Crime and Justice in Northern Nigerian Contexts

Feminist pathways theory has demonstrated that women's entry into crime is typically mediated through specific gendered life experiences including victimisation, poverty, and relationship coercion, but its application to northern Nigerian women requires theoretical reformulation that accounts for the specific gender regimes, cultural norms, Islamic legal frameworks, and postcolonial economic structures that shape women's lives in this region. This study developed an original theoretical framework for gendered crime and justice pathways in northern Nigerian contexts. A constructive theory-building methodology was employed, combining systematic review of feminist criminology and northern Nigerian gender studies scholarship (68 publications), grounded theory qualitative research with 48 women engaged with the criminal justice system across Kano, Maiduguri, Sokoto, and Kaduna (as offenders, victims, or informal justice actors), and expert consultation with 20 feminist criminologists and gender justice specialists. Grounded theory analysis confirmed that Western feminist pathways theory requires substantial adaptation for northern Nigerian application. The original Northern Nigerian Gendered Pathways Framework proposes six pathway types specific to this context: purdah-related economic exclusion pathway, polygamous household abandonment pathway, early marriage dissolution survival pathway, drug trafficking spousal coercion pathway, conflict-related displacement survival crime pathway, and honour-restoration revenge crime pathway. Each pathway has distinct feminist justice implications. The framework also articulates the dual justice system challenge, in which women navigate both formal secular and informal Islamic justice simultaneously. Expert review confirmed the framework's original theoretical contribution to African feminist criminology.

Keywords: feminist criminology, gendered pathways, northern Nigeria, criminal justice, original framework