The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has called for stricter punishment for perpetrators of gender-based violence (GBV) in Kano State, emphasizing that no good Muslim should beat his wife.
Speaking at his palace on Monday, July 21, while receiving a delegation from the Development Research and Project Center (dRPC) and the Bayero University Center for Islamic Civilization and Interfaith Dialogue (CICID), the Emir decried the rising cases of rape and domestic violence in the state.
The visit was part of an advocacy project aimed at mentoring Muslim Opinion Leaders (MOLs) to help combat GBV in predominantly Muslim states in northern Nigeria. The initiative is funded by the Ford Foundation.
“I have never supported beating women. Those who engage in such acts do not do so with the intention of reforming them. What we are seeing today are violent assaults that leave women seriously injured,” Sanusi stated.
He stressed that Islam honors and protects the rights of women and condemned those who misuse religion as a justification for abuse.
“Anyone who beats or injures his wife is not a good person. This is not my opinion – it is the teaching of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). It is those who do not seek knowledge who fail to understand this,” he said.
Sanusi expressed strong support for the group’s advocacy and described the initiative as timely, given the increasing prevalence of GBV in the region.
He also urged the revival and implementation of the Kano State Family Law draft, which he said addresses many of the state’s GBV-related challenges. According to him, Islamic legal texts already provide the necessary frameworks; they only need to be compiled and formalized for use.
Sharing findings from his doctoral thesis on the codification of Islamic family law, Sanusi noted that over a five-year period, he studied nine Shari’a courts in Kano and observed a high incidence of GBV cases.
He concluded by warning traditional leaders across the state: “I have informed all my district and village heads that anyone found guilty of beating his wife risks losing his title.”
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