Mass Marriage, Run By Sharia Police In Kano, Joins 100 Single Brides With New Husbands
Posted: May 15, 2012 - 19:43

Divorcee Altine Abdullahi is among 1,000 Nigerian women married today-Photo Credit: Robyn Dixon, LA TIMES
By SaharaReporters, New York
In a spectacular wedding paid for by local religious leaders, 100 single women and divorcees tied the knot with eligible men screened for them by the local Sharia police.

The mass marriage took place at the Palace of the Emir of Kano. The state government was represented by top government officials and Islamic clerics who moderated the occasion. Nine hundred more couples have been designated for the government-endorsed ceremony.

The grooms were decked out in white kaftans. Hundreds of drummers entertained guests outside the mosque premises.

Sheik Isiaka Rabiu of Tijjaniya paid the general dowry of one million naira. The government is responsible for paying their dowries and assistance to launch the marriages. About 15 million naira was given to the Hisbah board as reimbursement for the marriage ceremony.

According to the Hisbah Board, the brides and grooms will be given household items and loans. Committees will be set up to accompany the wives to their husbands’ homes in several parts of the state with certificates of marriage as well.

According to local custom, brides usually do not attend the ceremony, but some were there on Tuesday, dressed in veils and wax-cloth dresses.

“I’m very happy today. May God reward all those involved in this project,” 40-year-old bride Magajiya Ya’u told a French news agency.

At least one of the grooms was marrying a second wife, as Islamic beliefs allow for up to four
Women who volunteered for the program included those left in difficult circumstances after the death of their husbands or a divorce in a region where arranged marriages are common.

The program was run in conjunction with the Voice of Divorcees and Widows Association of Nigeria (VOWAN), and officials say all women participated on a strictly voluntary basis.

Women and men who qualified were allowed to meet each other at the Hisbah offices and decide on their own who they wished to marry.

“We are grateful to God that we have begun to realize our dream of marrying 1,000 women as part of the government’s commitment to mitigate the social malaise we are facing in our society,” the head of the Hisbah, Aminu Daurawa, said after the wedding conducted by the city’s chief imam.

“We will continue to conduct the weddings in batches and soon we will have the wedding of the second set of 100 women already screened.”

Altine Abdullahi was one of those registered to marry. Speaking to a reporter, she explained: "Too many men in Kano treat women like a T-shirt. They wear them and throw them away when they get tired of them."

Source:http://saharareporters.com/news-page/mass-marriage-run-sharia-police-kano-joins-100-single-brides-new-husbands

bandiejay: [size=18pt]can i trust saharareporter on this?[/size]

Hisbah officials, others take wives in Kano mass wedding


About 100 out of an estimated 1,000 women due for the mass wedding were married off by the Kano state government through the Hisbah board as part of its plans to bring down the astronomical number of widows and divorcees in the state.

The mass wedding which began about 10:30am at the City Mosque near the Emir’s palace within the Kano metropolis recorded mammoth turnout of guests and spectators. The Emir of Kano state Alhaji Ado Bayero and the Secretary to the Kano State Government (SSG) attended the occasion.

Investigations by Daily Trust revealed however that some of the couples who met through the government wedding scheme chose to get married privately instead of taking part in the group marriage because their parents were skeptical of the exercise.

The Director General of the Hisbah board, Malam abba Sa’idu Sufi who spoke to Daily Trust described the mass marriage as a “highly successful exercise which has enjoyed the support of the government, members of the press and the media”.

He said the government gave the board about N15 million to fund the activities of the mass wedding while famous business magnate and cleric Sheik Isyaku Rabiu donated N1 million to the grooms to pay the dowries of their spouses which was pegged at N10,000 each.

Source:http://dailytrust.com.ng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=162464:hisbah-officials-others-take-wives-in-kano-mass-wedding&catid=2:lead-stories&Itemid=8