A Longitudinal Study of Changing Gender Norms and Women’s Agency in Rural Communities in North West Nigeria: 2015 to 2024

Gender norm change in rural Northern Nigeria is a complex, non-linear, and contested process that resists simple measurement and theoretical capture. This study presents a longitudinal investigation of gender norm change and its relationship with women's agency in rural communities in the North West geopolitical zone over a ten-year period (2015 to 2024). A mixed-method longitudinal design was employed, tracking 300 women in 20 rural communities across Sokoto, Zamfara, and Kebbi States through three survey waves, supplemented by annual qualitative interviews with 40 key informants. Latent growth curve modelling, social norm theory, and feminist agency theory guided the analytical framework. Findings demonstrate measurable but slow progress in gender norm liberalisation across most communities, with change fastest in girls' primary education norms and slowest in women's mobility and reproductive autonomy norms. Crisis events, including the Boko Haram spillover effects and COVID-19 pandemic, are found to have interrupted norm change trajectories, temporarily reversing gains in some communities. Collective action by women's Islamic study circles is identified as the most consistent driver of sustained norm change at community level. This study makes original longitudinal and methodological contributions by providing rare repeated-measures evidence on gender norm dynamics in rural North West Nigeria. Keywords: gender norms, women's agency, longitudinal study, North West Nigeria, social change