The 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, has stirred controversial discussions by revealing that he advises his daughters to retaliate if their husbands ever slap them.
This bold statement was made during the National Dialogue Conference on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) prevention, themed ‘Islamic Teachings and Community Collaboration for Ending Gender-Based Violence.’
According to Daily Trust, the event was organized by the Centre for Islamic Civilisation and Interfaith Dialogue (CICID) at Bayero University Kano, in collaboration with the Development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC), with support from the Ford Foundation.
Drawing from his research on family law across nine Shari’a courts in Kano over five years, Emir Sanusi highlighted the alarming prevalence of domestic violence.
“Forty-one percent of cases were about maintenance, 26 percent were about harm, and 45 percent were cases of wife beating or domestic violence. When we analyzed the cases, not one instance of wife beating was ‘light beating.’ We found women with broken limbs, knocked-out teeth, and others subjected to severe beatings by their husbands and, sometimes, co-wives,” Sanusi said.
He condemned such acts unequivocally, saying, “Beating your wife or daughter is haram. Allah says all harm must be removed. Violence against another human being violates the basic dignity of a person.”
The Emir reiterated his stance against domestic violence by sharing his personal approach:
“When my daughters are getting married, I say to them, if your husband slaps you, and you come home and tell me without slapping him back first, I will slap you myself because I did not send my daughter to marry someone so he can slap her. If you do not like her, send her back to me. But don’t beat her.”
Sanusi also emphasized the importance of educating both sons and daughters on the unacceptability of gender-based violence, stressing that parents must raise children to uphold the dignity and respect of others.
Dr. Hassan Karofi, Director of Partnerships and Strategic Communications at dRPC, highlighted the role of religious leaders in combating GBV.
“The Muslim Opinion Leaders for Gender-Based Violence Prevention Project (MOLS4GBV) aims to address GBV in Northern Nigeria by leveraging the influence of religious leaders. These leaders are key to challenging harmful cultural norms using Islamic teachings that emphasize justice, dignity, and the protection of women,” Karofi said.
He added that the conference sought to align Islamic teachings with contemporary GBV prevention strategies while fostering dialogue among stakeholders, including faith-based organizations, women and youth groups, traditional institutions, and government bodies.
