Religious leader offers important advice to Muslim women

Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Saad Abubakar, offers an important advice to Muslim women.

Speaking at the Quranic graduation ceremony of Sheikh Sidi Attahiru Institute for Qur'anic and General Studies, Sokoto, Daily Trust reports that the religious leader stressed the need for Muslim women to be educated.

He said, "We need female doctors and nurses to take care of our sisters in the hospital and we also need female engineers among other professionals.

"So Muslim women need to look beyond maintaining their matrimonial homes, they should endeavor to acquire education as it will help them in their marital life."

Congratulating the 63 graduates, the Sultan encouraged them to keep seeking knowledge noting that it really helps women in their homes.

ALSO READ: Sultan of Sokoto joins Pastor Adeboye's PVC campaign

Sultan of Sokoto highlights the importance of hijab

This is not the first time, the religious leader has weighed in on a female-related issue.

In 2017, he condemned the Nigerian Law School for refusing to call a Muslim student to the bar for using the hijab.

The Sultan, represented by the Waziri of Katsina, Sanni Abubakar Lugga, shared his views at the fifth national convention of Muslim Public Affairs Center (MPAC) on December 16, 2017.

Noting that the Nigerian constitution permits the use of the hijab, he asked, "Why will a legal school refuse our sister's induction into the judiciary simply because she was wearing hijab? Is the Law School saying they are above National Judicial Council (NJC), they are above the Nigerian constitution, and they are above these three senior courts?"

He continued, "His Eminence wonders why hijab has now become a controversial issue. Hijab simply means decent dressing by females. So why should decent dressing be a problem? The hijab is not just an Arabic word. In English, it means decent dressing. His Eminence has asked Nigerians to reflect and see that this is not only an Islamic mode of dressing but a Christian mode of dressing.

"It is also a Judaism mode of dressing and it is a dressing for every decent woman. It is a dressing for any woman who wants to preserve her chastity in public," he concluded.

The affected law student, Amusa Firdaus, says she deliberately refused to remove her hijab in order to give her Muslim sisters the right to express their constitutional rights.