Executive Summary

This baseline survey marks a pivotal moment in Nigeria’s journey toward engaging men as co-leaders in the movement for gender justice and the prevention of gender-based violence (GBV).

Implemented by the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD) with Ford Foundation support, the “Core Support for Network Building of Male Feminists” initiative leverages an innovative, feminist-informed approach striving to build a visible, inclusive network of male feminists and allies who are not “saviours,” but disruptors of patriarchy, partners to women-led movements, and change agents embedded in traditional, religious, and community institutions.

Why It Matters

With one in three Nigerian women experiencing GBV, the imperative for new models of positive masculinity and shared leadership has never been clearer.

Deeply entrenched patriarchal and religious norms, coupled with limited male engagement in existing frameworks, have created persistent cultural and accountability gaps.

This three-year project aims to spark societal and institutional transformation by empowering men to proactively oppose GBV, uphold women’s rights, and advance gender norm shift as a national public good.

Baseline Objectives and Methods

The baseline survey was designed to:

• Assess male engagement in gender advocacy across all six geo-political zones;
• Map the capacity of male-focused organisations;
• Identify key traditional, religious and cultural (TRC) figures’ attitudes;
• Confirm the presence and structure of Male Feminist Networks (MFNs);
• Document male ally actions and collaborations;
• Gauge public awareness; and
• Ground strategic recommendations in evidence.

A robust mixed-methods approach combined online/mobile surveys, key informant interviews (KIIs), focus group discussions (FGDs), media/social media analytics, and systematic desk review, reaching urban and rural voices nationwide.

Quota-based snowball sampling surfaced both visible leaders and hidden influencers, ensuring that each zone’s realities and intersectionalities across age, class, faith, gender, and region were reflected.

Baseline Survey Key Findings

Regional Patterns and Heterogeneity

Male engagement in gender equality in Nigeria is both vibrant and uneven, shaped by geographic, actor, resource, and cultural dynamics.

Southern urban hubs such as Lagos, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, and Enugu lead with established, sometimes even registered, MFNs, often with strong ties to women’s rights organisations (WROs) and impactful public advocacy campaigns.

In contrast, much of the North alongside rural areas nationwide exhibits nascent, informal, or ad hoc engagement, with men more often mobilised via donor projects or coalition initiatives than as members of distinct, branded male feminist entities.

• South West and South South: These zones are home to multiple formal MFNs, including the Young Men’s Network Against SGBV and Voice Initiative. They boast structured leadership, registered chapters, intensive media advocacy, and robust public/private collaborations.
• South East: The zone displays strong but mostly informal alliances, often embedded in mixed-gender coalitions or event-driven partnerships.
• North Central, North West, and North East: Male engagement is largely individualistic or project-tied, with traditional, religious and cultural actors wielding immense influence over the pace of cultural change.