ADEDEJI-OLONA KHADIJAT OLAWUMI

Broadcasting

At the Broadcasting department office

Appointment on Visitation important

Topic: Gender And Media Representations

Description: Cultural and Film StudiesNollywood StudiesAudience StudiesReception Studies

#	Certificate	School	Year
1.	Ph.D (Communication Studies)	Lagos State University	2023

Narrative Shifts and Empowering Concerns: Representation of Violence Against Women and Girls in Nigerian Films

Violence against Women and Girls VAWG is a universally pervasive challenge spanning diverse socio-economic backgrounds, religious affiliations, and cultural contexts. Contemporary scholarship suggests that global feminist movements striving to end all forms of violence against women and girls have spurred an improvement in media representations of VAWG. Contrary to the longstanding prevalence of normalised and stereotypical depictions of VAWG in Nollywood films, the Nigerian film industry has experienced positive changes, insufficiently explored. This study documents some attempts to alter societal attitudes towards VAWG through Nigerian films. The study investigates how select Nigerian films address VAWG and contribute to shifting societal attitudes. Specific objectives include examining VAWG representations in chosen Nigerian films and identifying recurring narrative themes. Through textual analysis of three films Citation 2020 , Dry 2014 and Stories by Her 2021 , this study identifies five recurrent themes: institutional commitment to justice for victims/survivors, distinction between the wrong and right approaches to justice, voicelessness versus repossession of voice, and societal apathy versus complicity. These themes, serve as pathways for campaigning against various forms of gender-based violence. The study highlights the potential of films for effective storytelling and social change.

ADEDEJI-OLONA KHADIJAT is a Lecturer II at the Department of Broadcasting

ADEDEJI-OLONA has a Ph.D in Communication Studies from Lagos State University