Why rich northern men should stop building mosques – Emir Sanusi
- The Emir of Kano, Mallam Muhammad Sanusi, says it is worrisome that 75 per cent of girls given out in marriage in the north can neither read nor write
- The monarch calls for a review of laws to prevent early marriage and encourage girl-child education
- Sanusi says girls who get pregnant under 18 are twice as likely to die as those who get pregnant at the age of 20
Emir Sanusi has said many northern girls are illiterates.
The Emir of Kano, Mallam Muhammad Sanusi II, has urged wealthy individuals in the North to use their wealth to educate girls and discourage their early marriage rather than wasting money in building mosques.
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The Emir made the statement on Thursday, January 19, in his keynote address at the 3rd international conference on Islamic Banking and Finance, organised by the International Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance, Bayero University, Kano, The Punch reports.
Sanusi said: “I’m just tired of people coming to me to say I want to build a new mosque. You know, we keep building mosques and our daughters are illiterates.
“So, my appeal is that if you really want to help Kano, don’t come to me with a request to build a N300m mosque because I have enough mosques everywhere. And if I don’t have a mosque, I’ll build it myself. If you really want to help, go and educate a girl child in."
The Emir mentioned that over 50 per cent of girls between the age bracket of 18 and 20 were given out in marriage in this part of the country.
He said the worrisome dimension of it was that 75 per cent of them could neither read nor write.
He called for a review of laws to prevent early marriage and encourage girl-child education.
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“It is not a mere coincidence that this is where you have the highest levels of illiteracy, early marriage, divorce and the highest levels of domestic violence.
“People need to understand that the law has to change. If you look at the medical data on maternal health, girls who get pregnant below the age of 15 are five times as likely to die as girls who get pregnant at the age of 20. Those who get pregnant under 18 are twice as likely to die as those who get pregnant at the age of 20. So, it is important that we look at this issue of early marriage.," he said.
In other news, the United Nations Population Fund estimates there could be up to 276,000 pregnancies among women displaced in the north east by Boko Haram crisis in 2017.
UNPF has also called for urgent protection of their reproductive health and rights.
The fund said nearly 53 out of all people internally displaced across the most affected states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa are women and girls and 1.73 million of them are of child bearing age.