Christian Women and Girls at Risk of Severe Human Rights Abuses in Nigeria

Christian women and girls in northern and Middle Belt Nigeria are among those at risk of severe abuses, according to a report published by human rights experts.

These abuses include abduction, sexual violence, forced marriage, and forced conversion to Islam.

In just one horrific example, a 16-year-old Christian girl was reported to have had her hand cut off after her family rejected a proposal of marriage from an Islamist militant.

“Violence targeting Christians and other religious minorities continues to be rampant,” read the report, published on June 8.

“We are particularly alarmed at the very specific and heightened risks of discrimination, violence, and exploitation that Christian women and girls are exposed to,” it continued, citing “grave cases of sexual violence, abductions, acts tantamount to enforced disappearances, forced conversion, and child marriage amongst them.”

“In many cases, those who resist are reportedly threatened, punished, disappeared, or killed.”

Sharia Law Leads to Human Rights Abuses

Insecurity caused by Islamist terrorists and other armed criminal gangs has left 3.7 million Nigerians internally displaced.  

The report notes that displacement increases the risks faced by women and girls.

“These crimes took place within a broader pattern of violence and persecution disproportionately affecting Christian communities in some northern states,” it continues.

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This includes “killings, attacks on churches and villages … [and] mob violence linked to accusations of blasphemy.”

Twelve states in northern Nigeria have incorporated sharia (Islamic law) into their legal systems, including “blasphemy” laws that have led to human rights abuses. In April 2025 the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) Court of Justice declared that these laws violate international human rights standards.

The report concludes, “Nigerian authorities must act urgently to prevent further irreparable harm and ensure accountability for all violations.”

Tens of thousands of Christians have been killed by Islamists in northern and Middle Belt Nigeria over the last 15 years in what church leaders have referred to as an anti-Christian “genocide.”