By Fatima Mohammed-Lawal
The Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN), Kwara Chapter, has been recognized as the best-performing state in the areas of community development and humanitarian activities.
The Amirah of the Association, Hajia Nimat Labaika, stated this while delivering her address in Ilorin at the formal opening ceremony of the Step Down of the 39th Annual National Conference.
She explained that the Annual Ramadan community outreach and women empowerment earned the state the accolade in performance.
“We also partnered with some international NGOs to carry out various health intervention programs like awareness creation, prevention, and eradication of malaria, HIV, and TB in the community.
“Through this, we have been able to empower 100 people living with HIV and AIDS.
“Indigent women who are also petty traders across the 16 LGAs were empowered through zakat and donations collected from philanthropists,” she said.
Labaika appealed to philanthropists to help the Association do more in terms of humanitarian activities in the state.
She described the theme of the conference as apt, adding that it is a tradition of FOMWAN to organize a rotational Annual conference for members across the states of the Federation to gather to address contemporary issues as they affect the Muslim Ummah.
In his Lecture, Prof.Abdulquadir Abikan, the new Director-General and member of the Council of the National Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), Abuja observed that Muslim women stand as representatives of a collective struggle against a pervasive issue that transcends borders and beliefs.
Speaking on the theme: “Women and the Challenges of Insecurity”, Abikan said insecurity is not merely a statistic; but a live reality for many women around the world.
He observed that women are the worst victims of insecurity in any nation, adding that women of all ages are confronted with femicide.
Abikan, who was represented by Dr Muhammad Kamaldeen of the Department of Islamic Law, University of Ilorin described femicide as the intentional killing of women because they are women by men.
“Femicide is both a violation of human rights and a persistent global issue rooted in violence.
“Despite legal frameworks aimed at protecting women, femicide remains disturbingly prevalent. In 2022, the United Nations recorded 89,000 intentional killings of women and girls worldwide, with 55 percent of these murders committed by intimate partners or individuals close to the victim,” he said.
The expert in Law also pointed out that women can also be complacent in creating situations that result in insecurity of not only themselves but everyone at large.
He emphasized the crucial role that women play in societal development and the creation of the moral fiber of society.
According to him, individuals who end up as terrorists, armed robbers, kidnappers, fraudsters, criminals, and miscreants were all birthed by their mothers in the same way as other individuals who meaningfully contribute to society.
“The security challenges we are experiencing cannot be divorced from the breakdown of the family unit where the position of women as the first school of their children, according to Prophet Muhammad (SAW), has been left to decline.
“In several homes, women are faced with economic and emotional challenges that shift their focus from the care and appropriate training of the young minds to other material challenges.
“This is not to say that women should not be professionals outside of their homes, but the Islamic position is that a woman should not be constrained to fend for herself and her children to the detriment of the care of the young children,” he said.
He appealed to men to form a united front with women in understanding their roles in fostering safe environments for all.
“We must work together- across faiths and backgrounds dismantle the structures that perpetuate violence against women,” he said.
Also speaking, Abdullahi Ghali, Lecturer at the College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies (CAILS), stated that issues of security must start from the grassroots, individual, family level, and government levels.
He also appealed to women and mothers to give the best training to their children as dictated by the Prophet Muhammad (SAW).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the conference includes free medical checkups, HIV/AIDs screening, hypertension, as well as free medication.
