A university teacher, Dr. Nimah Abdulraheem, has called for the enforcement of the relevant laws protecting the dignity of Nigerian women without necessary infringing on their religious rights.
She particularly challenged members of the National Assembly to always strike to maintain a balance in the enactment of law that will protection dignity of women and as well be conscious of their religious injunctions.
Abdulraheem, a senior lecturer in the Department of Law at the university of Ilorin and the initiator, Protection Women Dignity Initiative (PWDI), a non-governmental organisation, spoke with Blueprint in Ilorin during the organisation’s second Public interactive session titled “Underage Marriage: Religious Injunction or Abuse” held in Ilorin.
In her welcome address, the university teacher said the essence of the session was to correct misgivings about some “cultural practices that tend to represent Islam, but in sharp contrast with the Islamic injunctions.”
In his lecture, Dr. Abdulrasaq Alaro of the department of Islamic law, University of Ilorin, said early marriage was not obligatory under Islamic Law, but merely permissible even as he said it must not necessary be consummated as soon as such was conducted.
But his co-discussant, Hajia Aminat Abdulsalam of the department of the library, University of Ilorin, expressed a contrary view arguing that issues of poverty, gender inequality, violence against women amongst others should be addressed.
