Emir Sanusi: ‘Why I told my daughters to slap their husbands’
The 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has revealed that he advises his daughters, when getting married, that if their husbands slap them, they should return the slap.
The Emir made this statement during the National Dialogue Conference on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) prevention from an Islamic perspective, organized by the Centre for Islamic Civilisation and Interfaith Dialogue (CICID), Bayero University Kano (BUK), in collaboration with the Development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC) and supported by the Ford Foundation.
Sanusi shared alarming statistics from a research study he conducted on Shari’a courts in Kano, which revealed that 45% of domestic violence cases involved wife-beating.
He explained that while Islam allows for light disciplinary measures under strict conditions, many men ignore these rules and resort to severe physical abuse. The research found that women in such cases had suffered broken limbs, knocked-out teeth, and constant beatings, with some even being abused by multiple wives or their own sons.
Sanusi emphasized that wife-beating and domestic violence are prohibited in Islam, calling them harmful and unacceptable. He further stated that if one of his daughters came to him after being slapped by her husband without slapping him back first, he would slap her himself, as he does not believe any man should be allowed to abuse his wife.
He urged society to teach both sons and daughters that such violence is wrong and violates basic human dignity.
Dr. Hassan Karofi, Director of Partnerships and Strategic Communications at dRPC, also spoke at the event, highlighting the organization’s 22-year commitment to supporting Muslim opinion leaders in addressing GBV. He noted that the conference aimed to strengthen communication, advocacy, and model change in preventing GBV in northern Nigeria.
Karofi explained that the Muslim Opinion Leaders for GBV Prevention Project (MOLS4GBV) engages religious leaders to challenge harmful cultural norms and use Islamic teachings to promote women’s dignity and protection.
The conference also sought to align Islamic perspectives with contemporary approaches to GBV prevention and foster dialogue among stakeholders, including faith-based organizations, women’s and youth groups, traditional institutions, and the government.
Dr. Taofeek Abubakar Hussain, Director of CICID at BUK, concluded the event by stressing the importance of correcting misconceptions about Islam and promoting efforts to prevent violence against women.
Proofreading by Uchechi Ojo, Sub-editor at NeptunePrime.
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