dRPC Trains 40 Imams and Religious Leaders in Northern Nigeria on Gender-Based Violence Prevention
The Development Research and Projects Centre dRPC, a Nigerian non-profit organization, has organized two day training for 40 friday Mosque Imams and Muslim Opinion Leaders MOLs from Kaduna and Kano States on Gender Based Violence.
The training workshop which is in collaboration with Ford Foundation West Africa office said the workshop aims was to strengthen the Imams role in advocating against Gender-Based Violence GBV across Northern Nigeria.
Speaking at the training, the project coordinator for dRPC, Ahmad Abdullahi said the aimed of the training was to leverage on the influence of religious leaders to address GBV by encouraging the leaders to communicate and advocate for change in their communities.
Ahmad Abdullahi stressed that, Imams and Muslim Opinion Leaders MOLs are instrumental in shaping public opinion and can use Islamic teachings to challenge cultural norms that contribute to violence against women and girls.
"Through this initiative, we engage MOLs as advocates for GBV prevention, empowering them to use Islamic teachings to counter harmful cultural practices"
As part of their training, participants recently took part in a Peer-to-Peer Study Tour in Egypt, interacting with prominent Islamic institutions, including Al-Azhar and the Grand Mufti.
According to Abdullahi, insights gained from the engagements would be passed on to the Friday Mosque Imams through step-down training workshop, equipping them to educate their communities on Islamic principles that protect women and girls from harm.
The Coordinator emphasized that, their goal was to provide the Imams with knowledge from Islamic principles that advocate against violence towards women and girls and also to strengthen their capacity to integrate the teachings into their sermons.
In a remark, the Kano State’s Commissioner for Religious Affairs, Ahmad Alhaji Auwalu, noted that, the forty selected Imams for the training where from rural areas, where awareness about women’s rights is often limited.
Alhaji Auwalu noted that, Women have faced neglect and abuse, and have been denied educational opportunities.
According to him, The trained Imams would now have the capacity to spread the message across the region, educating both their communities and fellow Imams.
He expressed optimism that the training would help the Imams to promote a better understanding of the rights of women and children.
Ealier, the Director of the Centre for Islamic Civilization and Interfaith Dialogue at Bayero University in Kano, Dr Toafik Hussain revealed that the university has signed an MoU with dRPC to further advance GBV prevention goals.
He stated that the center, as an Islamic institution, would work to enhance the capacity of religious leaders and foster a deeper understanding of GBV from both contemporary and Islamic perspectives.
