A demand by 8,000 Nigerian women for help to
get married will be considered, the Zamfara
state government has said. A group of women marched through Gusau city to
hand in their petition to the religious police in the state
which is partly governed by Islamic law. Traditionally women need to provide furniture for the
marital home, but this is too expensive for some of
those seeking husbands. The women belong to an association that acts as a
match-making service. The Zamfara Widows Association represents
divorcees, widows and orphaned girls looking to find
suitable Muslim husbands.
"Many of us cannot afford two meals in a day because
there are no men to support us," Nigeria's Premium
Times quotes the women on Thursday's march as
saying. Abdullahi Muhammad Shinkafi, the commissioner of
religious affairs for Zamfara state government, told
the BBC he understood their plight and need for
financial assistance. "What the widows are after is to get married... and in
Nigeria in particular, there are a lot of traditions that
are money-demanding in the process of getting
married," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa
programme. "That is why they marched and are seeking for the
government's attention." He said their demands would be analysed as Zamfara
did its best to help those living in poverty. The BBC's Bashir Abdullahi says in Kano state, also in
northern Nigeria, the board of the religious police, or
Hisbah, often organises mass weddings for poor
widows and divorcees. The Hisbah pays for the wedding clothes, the bride
price to be paid by the groom and the furniture to be
provided by the bride. But Mr Shinkafi said budgetary restraints might not
lead to a speedy solution for the women. "It is one thing to bring couples together, it is another
to sustain their living," he said.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24301983

8000 punnanies de waste for north and I de agege here ...