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[00:00.18] Nigeria is one of the top 10 most dangerous countries in the world for women.

[00:05.76] The shortage of laws protecting women is compounded by poor law enforcement and traditions that force women to keep quiet about gender violence.

[00:16.11] Tired of physical abuse, some Nigerian women are now taking self-defense classes.

[00:22.22] It was really high opening. I liked the fact that I could I can protect myself. Yes, at least I can protect myself and if I wanted to attack, I can attack quickly. Yeah, so you went well.

[00:35.50] In Nigeria, even in a large city like Lagos, women learning to fight for themselves face a lot of criticism.

[00:42.67] It's strange, very, very strange to hear that a woman wants to defend herself if she finds herself in a position where she has to. Nobody is going to listen to that.

[00:55.70] They would just tell you that you're not being submissive as a woman, you know.

[01:02.59] They tell you that you just you've become a feminist and so because you started listening to all those things that are happening and then in Africa we don't do that.

[01:08.44] The organisers of the self-defense course for women say breaking deep-rooted traditions is hard.

[01:15.35] The taboo stems from the fact that societal pressures, environmental perception and also within women themselves as well,

[01:23.31] not having the self-belief that they can actually achieve and do this or what is required to become proficient at self-defense only.

[01:31.01] Only three months ago, Nigeria adopted its first National Sexual Offenders Register, setting up a database of those convicted for sexual violence since 2015.

[01:42.97] While it is a step toward clamping down on abuse, critics say many assaults go unreported because women are forced to keep quiet.

[01:52.53] The self-defense course in Lagos organized by rights group Women Impacting Nigeria and a local gym is also teaching women to speak up.

[02:02.63] Everybody tells their story because here you're meeting women who have experienced the same things that you've experienced, but some people are silent about it.

[02:10.86] As more and more Nigerian women work outside their homes and spend more time on the streets away from their male family members, incidents of assault against them have been increasing.

[02:22.31] Until the authorities step in to protect women, self-defence may be the only option for many.