NASFAT women hold fifth biennial conference

WOMEN of the Nasrul-Lahi-L-Fatih (NASFAT) Society, Lagos Zone 1, have held their fifth biennial conference with a focus on the promotion of education among Muslim women and their capacity to impact positively on the society.

The event took place from the June 1 to June 4 at NASFAT, Owutu branch, Ikorodu.

At the closing of the summit, the National Women Affairs Secretary, NASFAT Worldwide, Alhaja Suwebat Bola Kupolati, said the aim of the conference was to bring women in each zone together to learn, discuss, network, increase their vocational skills and share the knowledge of Islam.

“It has been very spiritual, knowing how important it is for women to be educated about their roles in the family, the society and in the mosque.” Without education, it is almost impossible for them to discharge their responsibilities.

“This is a conference that we do every two years for the women in the zones. We have about 30 zones in NASFAT and so far, 21 zones have indicated that they will be having the bi-annual conference,”Alhaja Kupolati said.

She urged Muslim mothers to devote their time to educating their children, particularly girls, saying it is very important.

She said: “When our children know the right thing to do, they will know how to live their lives wherever they find themselves. We are very concerned about our female children because of their current challenges.”

“The way some girls dress these days is very embarrassing and disgraceful. That is why we have to pay more attention to our girls to ensure that they do the right thing. We know the problem we are having with gender-based violence as well. Cases of child abuse are so many.”

The Women Affairs Secretary, NASFAT Lagos Zone 1, Alhaja YetundeOtubade, said: “These days, we, parents, treat our children with levity, compared to the way we were brought up with discipline in our days, which we still derive pleasure from. The levity we use to train our children now, claiming we are training and loving them, is harming them. Not that we have to be harsh on them, but they have to be disciplined.

“I implore all parents to make time for their children so that they won’t have to learn from outside their homes, because learning from outside spoils the whole thing. A child can be influenced in three ways: the parents, the government and the society. The society supersedes these days because the parents that are meant to care have no time for them.”

The guest speaker of the day, Sheikh Taofeeq Akewugbagold,underscored the need for parents to train their children and instill the fear of Allah in them.