Sharia: Stakeholders Brainstorm On Violence Against Women

Stakeholders from various Islamic groups and scholars met at the Centre for Islamic Civilisation and Interfaith Dialogue (CICID) Bayero University, Kano, to validate a document relating to violence against women and children in Northern Nigeria.

The meeting which has the theme, “Action Research Validation Meeting on Legal Frameworks and Gender Justice: Mitigating Violence Against Women Justifications,” was organised by the centre in partnership with Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) and support from the Ford Foundation.

WRAPA consultant, Prof Dahiru Jafar-Usman, said the research focused on the cases related to sections 55(1)A to D of the Penal code, recommending its repeal and also a review to sections 353 and 360 of the Criminal Code, which address indecent assault on men and women.

He said, there have been no cases decided with section 55(1) of the Penal Code since 1960 and it’s in conflict with provisions of the 1999 Constitution as amended and other international human rights instruments, while the provisions of the Criminal Code should be corrected to indecent assault against any person (covering all gender) as a felony, punishable by three years, not as it is currently prescribed against women.

Speaking on the need for both the federal and state governments to domesticate the Violence Against Person (VAP) Act to curb violence against women and children across the country, he said the research became necessary considering how women are systematically disenfranchised from accessing justice or affirming their rights as guaranteed by Islam especially in the north.

CICID’s director, Dr Taufiq Abubakar, said the document would help in fast-tracking the norms, cultures and traditions of people from the north, noting that the meeting has representatives from the Kadiriya, Sunni, Council of Ulamas, Izala and FOMWAN, among others who will validate and see how suitable the document will work to curb the practice.

Earlier, WRAPA’s secretary-general, Hajiya Saudatu Mahdi, explained how the organisation has been contributing to the advancement of women’s rights through the Islamic Family law model of engaging with leaders of faith and culture for the past 14 years.

She said the intervention has reached 105 mosques, 136 Imans, 1.9 million women, with various tools and kuthbah produced for continuous sensitisation on the Islamic rights of women.