Intersectionality and Human Rights Violations: The Experience of Disabled Women in Northeast Nigeria

This research applies an intersectional analytical framework to examine the compounded human rights violations experienced by women with disabilities in Northeast Nigeria, particularly in conflict and displacement contexts in Adamawa and Yobe states. Intersectionality theory, first developed in feminist scholarship by Kimberle Crenshaw, offers an analytical lens that goes beyond single-axis identity analyses to reveal how the overlapping systems of gender discrimination and disability-based discrimination create unique and intensified vulnerability. The CRPD's Article 6 on women with disabilities and the CEDAW's Optional Protocol provide the normative anchors. An empirical qualitative methodology is employed, conducting in-depth interviews with 28 women with disabilities in IDP camp and host community settings in Yola and Damaturu, alongside interviews with disability rights advocates, rehabilitation service providers, and humanitarian protection clusters. Intersectional thematic analysis is applied to interview data. Findings reveal that women with disabilities in conflict settings experience barriers to accessing humanitarian assistance, heightened risk of sexual violence, exclusion from community decision-making, and near-total absence of disability-responsive services within humanitarian response structures. The study demonstrates that neither mainstream disability programs nor mainstream gender-based violence programs adequately address the compounded needs of this population. Recommendations include mandatory disability-gender integration in humanitarian programming, disaggregated disability data collection, and dedicated intersectional service provision models. Keywords: intersectionality, disability, women's rights, Northeast Nigeria, humanitarian response.