By Lucia Hanmer, Victoria Esquivel-Korsiak, & Rohini P. Pande<\/p>\n
Globally, an estimated 1 billion people\u00a0do not have an\u00a0official ID\u2014of these,\u00a0the majority are women.<\/strong>\u00a0The\u00a02017 Global Findex survey<\/a>\u00a0found that 45% of women in Low Income Countries (LICs) do not have an ID compared to 30% of\u00a0men.\u00a0In today\u2019s world,\u00a0without\u00a0gender\u00a0equality\u00a0in access to\u00a0identification\u00a0governments\u00a0will struggle to ensure\u00a0universal access to basic services, economic opportunities, and fulfillment of rights and protections,\u00a0and\u00a0to\u00a0empower\u00a0women to\u00a0participate fully in\u00a0the digital economy.<\/p>\n ID4D study\u00a0on gender barriers\u00a0in Nigeria\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The World Bank\u2019s ID4D Initiative completed an extensive qualitative research study in Nigeria to help develop a comprehensive understanding of gendered experiences and women\u2019s needs with regard to ID<\/span>. Nigeria presents a key opportunity to better understand\u00a0the intersectionality of\u00a0barriers faced by women and marginalized groups in accessing an ID and to develop evidence-based solutions\u00a0that can be directly incorporated into\u00a0the\u00a0country\u2019s\u00a0planned\u00a0reforms<\/a>\u00a0to make the national ID system more inclusive\u00a0for all.<\/p>\n For the study,\u00a0over 1,500 Nigerian\u00a0participated in\u00a0focus group discussions (FGDs) and interviews conducted across 36 rural and urban local government areas (LGAs)\u00a0located\u00a0in 12 states, covering Nigeria\u2019s six geopolitical zones.\u00a0FGDs were stratified by gender, urban\/rural residence, and age group, and included\u00a0special\u00a0group\u00a0discussions with IDPs, pastoralists, and\u00a0persons\u00a0with disabilities.<\/p>\n Findings<\/strong><\/p>\n The study found that men and women across all age groups were aware of\u00a0the national ID, but their knowledge is basic, uneven, and sometimes incorrect. Many, but not all, male and female\u00a0respondents\u00a0thought men needed the ID more than\u00a0women\u00a0and there was often confusion about what\u00a0the\u00a0ID is used for.<\/p>\n Barriers\u00a0in obtaining an ID, such as the high cost of transport, lack of documentation, or loss of income due to long waiting times,\u00a0were exacerbated for poor and marginalized women.<\/strong>\u00a0For example, women often had to seek permission from husbands\u00a0or fathers to leave the\u00a0house or\u00a0were unable to leave for long periods of time due to childcare and household chores. Additionally,\u00a0in\u00a0some\u00a0communities\u00a0social norms created barriers to\u00a0registration for women, such as\u00a0concerns about gender-mixed spaces, unveiling for photographs\u00a0or physical contact required to capture fingerprints.\u00a0(Read the\u00a0full report<\/u><\/a>)<\/p>\n Community solutions<\/strong><\/p>\n Nigerian participants proposed\u00a0a number of\u00a0solutions\u00a0that could\u00a0lift barriers faced by women and\u00a0marginalized\u00a0groups\u00a0as well as the\u00a0population\u00a0at large:<\/p>\n These recommendations will inform the Nigerian government\u2019s approach to\u00a0rolling out\u00a0the national ID.<\/p>\n Global lessons\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n Nigeria is not alone in this challenge. Many countries across Africa and the world face similar issues in closing the gender gap and ensuring that everyone has access to an\u00a0ID\u00a0by\u00a0adapting\u00a0many of the\u00a0recommendations\u00a0above\u00a0to the\u00a0local\u00a0context.\u00a0When IDs are\u00a0accessible for those that are the most difficult to reach,\u00a0the\u00a0rest of the\u00a0population\u00a0benefits too.<\/p>\n Overall,\u00a0our research in Nigeria\u00a0also\u00a0highlights the\u00a0<\/strong>importance\u00a0of\u00a0engaging with\u00a0and listening to\u00a0communities<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong>Creating environments where\u00a0the voices of women and marginalized groups\u00a0are heard\u00a0by policymakers\u00a0is essential to identify\u00a0barriers\u00a0and generate\u00a0practical solutions\u00a0to their\u00a0problems.\u00a0While this may seem intuitive, all too often ID systems and projects are built with a top-down approach that fails to deliver on peoples\u2019 real\u00a0needs.<\/p>\n Through the ID4D Initiative, the\u00a0World Bank\u00a0will continue\u00a0to support countries in building this type of\u00a0qualitative research and\u00a0broader\u00a0public\u00a0engagement\u00a0into project design\u00a0(see our\u00a0Qualitative\u00a0Research Toolkit<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n