Don’t abandon your primary responsibility, Al-Mu’minaat urges women

AL-MU’MINAAT (The Believing Women’s Organisation) has implored women not to deviate from their primary responsibilities which revolve around the home and children.

The amirah (president) of the organisation, Alhaja Nimatallah Abdulquadir, made the plea at the opening ceremony of the group’s 25th annual training forum themed ‘Life as a Mirage’ held in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State.

According to Alhaja Abdulquadir, the employment of women outside the domestic domain should not be a threat to the home front because the social and moral responsibility of children upbringing lies primarily with the mother.

Also speaking at the event, a lecturer at the Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED), Lagos, Alhaja Basira Adenowo, encouraged the audience to do away with negligence, misplaced priority, avoidance of their primary responsibilities, seeking illusions and lust as all these, among others, would lead to chaos and social disorder.

She attributed the high crime rate in the society to women’s poor attitude to their primary roles and their decision to prioritise work over family.

“Men and women are fundamentally different; they are biologically different and their roles in the society are also different.

“Human beings’ buildup denotes their responsibility in the society, and due to women’s gentle nature and tenderness, they are enjoined to rear the children, while the men are enjoined to provide for the family. Although Islam does not forbid women to work, it must not disturb their primary responsibility.

“Nowadays, women engage in works that prevent them from attending to their children because they want to accumulate wealth, forgetting that a child that is not well trained will create chaos in the society,” Alhaja Adenowo said.

She advised women to ensure that their primary assignment is well taken care of so that the society would become better.

“Reliance on Allah is one of the spiritual virtues of a Muslim woman. Let us go back to the Qur’an and Sunnah and learn about our religion. As a Muslim woman, if you don’t know how to go about your primary role, go for counseling. And there are so many Islamic literature that centre on proper upbringing of a Muslim child,” she added.

The Chief Imam of the Ogun State police command, Mr Omikunle Waheed, a Superintendent of Police, who gave tips on crime prevention noted that education of women had the potential of reducing crime in the society.

According to him, women’s access to Islamic and western education will produce morally upright individuals who will never engage in crime.

“For the development of good children, the family plays a vital role and we cannot rule out the role of women in the society. But today, it is unfortunate that we refuse to empower them with adequate knowledge,” Waheed said.

He advised parents to spend quality time with their children in order to strengthen the relationship.

“Being friendly with our kids is part of the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad. It helps in curbing crime in our society. If your children are free with you, they will be able to divulge information to you.

“Due to some parents’ unfriendly attitude, so many children lock up and there may be so many things they want to share with their parents. If you are close with your children, they will be free to share their secrets with you,” he said.

He lamented that underage children now join cult groups and that statistics indicate that those involved in kidnapping for ransom are in their 20s.

“The involvement of young children in cultism is rampant in our society. Eight-year-olds are in cult groups. There are so many underage children that are members of cult groups, kidnap syndicates and they are also into drugs.

“Parents need to create time for these children. Don’t just feel that they are old enough. Check their schoolbags, search their rooms and ensure that you know what they are doing in isolation,” the cleric said.

“Know the kind of friend your children are moving with. Any time you find a strange item with them, ask them to return it to the rightful owner even if it is a common pencil. Warn your female children that on no condition should they sit on males’ laps because Islam never permits that,” the cleric said.

He advised Nigerians to be vigilant and conversant with their environment.

“As a Muslim, it is our duty to be vigilant. If we notice strange faces in our environment, let us endeavour to study them and never conceal information from police.

“Ensure that you always disclose your whereabouts to a person and reduce the number of time your children spend on social media because most of the crime perpetrated today comes from social media. Let us be conscious of our bank transactions. Under no circumstance should you reveal your BVN or account number to anybody. All transactions should be done in the bank and don’t ever allow any unknown person to transfer money into your account,” the police officer warned.