Narrative shifts and empowering concerns: representation of violence against women and girls in Nigerian films

Contemporary scholarship suggests that global feminist movements striving to end violence against women and girls have spurred an improvement in its media representations. Nollywood, Nigeria’s film industry, serves as a notable example of how local filmmakers are incorporating global feminist principles to challenge entrenched stereotypes and portray women’s empowerment. However, these changes are insufficiently explored in scholarship. This study examines how select Nigerian films portray violence against women and girls (VAWG) and seek to challenge societal attitudes towards it with empowering narratives. Through textual analysis of three films – Citation (2020), Dry (2014) and Stories by Her (2021), five recurrent themes were identified: institutional commitment to justice for victims/survivors, acceptable and unacceptable approaches to justice, voicelessness versus repossession of voice, and societal apathy versus complicity. The study highlights the potential of films for effective storytelling and social change.