Women and Political Participation in Kano City

Abstract

The role and nature of the participation of in the politics of Kano during the First and Second Nigerian Republics is discussed here with relation to two interrelated concerns: the role and importance of Islam in Kano politics and the nature of women's participation in the two dominant political parties.1 The Islamic conception of equality for women, and therefore basic understandings about and their proper role and place in society, is set forth in the Qur'an and in the Sharia (Islamic law). Muslim scholars maintain that the Qur'an explicitly demands the same standard for men and and thus that they are equal before God. In Islamic law, are afforded explicit rights and protections, particularly in regard to inheritance, marriage, and support, but the general thrust of references to in the Qur'an is that are dependent on men and are fulfilled only through subordination to them. Although roles of wives and husbands are viewed as complementary rather than unequal, it is quite clear that relationships within the family are hierarchical in nature. The role of is complementary to that of men, but it is not equal in any literal sense of the word. While women have the same [rights in relation to their husbands] as is expected in all decency from them, men stand a step above them. God is mighty and wise.' In Kano today there is great pressure to conform to the prevailing interpretations of Islamic doctrine. Women function in effect as minor wards of their husbands and fathers.