Shira local government council in Bauchi State is developing a legal framework prohibiting women and teenage girls from going to farms, citing cultural and safety concerns.
Chairman of the council, Babangida Maliya, said this in an interview with our correspondent. He said the measure aimed to protect women, especially girls and mothers, from potential risks and cultural deviations.
Maliya lamented that many women in the area spend long hours on farmlands, often returning late at night, a situation he described as both unsafe and culturally inappropriate.
“Neither Islam nor our Hausa-Fulani tradition permits women and young girls to toil in the fields.
“This initiative seeks to align our practices with our values while ensuring the safety of our mothers and daughters,” he said.
Maliya said consultations were ongoing with legal experts, councillors and traditional leaders to build a comprehensive and enforceable framework.
He called on Fulani leaders to mobilise children, especially girls, for school enrollment and adult literacy programmes for mothers, which he said would offer them better alternatives to farm labour.
Responding, a woman leader, Hajiya Inno Mohammed, applauded the proposed policy.
She pledged to mobilise support among fellow women for the council’s move, describing it as a step in the right direction toward protecting their dignity and encouraging education.
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