The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, Tuesday, strongly kicked against child marriage.
Addressing a conference of Northern Muslims Religious Leaders Forum on Primary Health care in Kano, the former Central Bank Governor explained that the reproductive health challenges associated with such practice was enough to discouraged the age long tradition.
Sanusi said that Nigeria Muslims were ardent followers of Maliki school of thought like Morocco, Malaysia and Egypt, stressing that those brotherly countries had since pegged marriage age.
In his words “I believe the time is ripe to take a stand on this age long practice of early marriage, and coincidentally we subscribed to Malikiyya school of thought like Morocco, Malaysia and Egypt who had since pegged marriage age to 17, 19 and 18 respectively”.
He further condemned some cultural practices that encouraged polygamy, adding that, “some of those who engage in this practice do not have the necessary economic power to support themselves”.
The emir who took his audience through historical lane explained that “in the past, cities like Kano, Katsina, Aghadez, and Timbuktu hold economic power of the Sahel region, and this economic prospect had since shifted to coastal cities around the globe”.
Commenting on wife battery, the emir said that Islam abhors assault on women.
He enjoined those involved in the act to desist from such practice.
He disclosed that “I don’t expect my in-law to lay his hand on my daughter, but I have since urged her to retaliate any form of assault from her husband”.
