The Criterion seeks divine intervention in Israeli-Palestinian war

THE Criterion, an association of Muslim women in business and the professions, has sought Allah’s intervention in the ongoing war between Israel and Palestine and a resolution of the conflict.

The international amirah of The Criterion, Alhaja Medinat Akanni, made the intercession while speaking with newsmen in Ilorin, Kwara State, on the forthcoming international conference of the association which is billed to hold in the city.

According to her, the conflict between the two nations is a historical one and it requires the intervention of God for the conflict to be resolved for good.

Akanni made a case for the training and proper upbringing of the boy-child, saying much attention is being paid to the training of the girl-child while the boy-child is being neglected.”

She said: “Charity begins at home. If we are desirous of peace in the society, it must start from home. We must ensure that there is peace at every home and the only way to achieve this is to properly bring up our male and female children who will later become husbands and wives. If there is peace in their marriages and various homes, there will be peace in the society.”

Commenting on the theme of this year’s conference, ‘Peace Building: The Role of Muslim Women in Our Society’, the Criterion amirah said: “Our carefully chosen theme is very apt for the present economic and political situation facing not only Nigeria but the world at large.

“Most nations are not at peace as there is one disturbance or the other and where there is no peaceful coexistence, there can never be progress. The world has not known peace for quite some time now. A lot of things have been disrupted, from education and economy to health and social life, just to mention a few.

“One of the aims and objectives of The Criterion is to encourage, promote and foster the spirit of Islamic sisterhood by ensuring we live in peace at all times and to ensure that anything that will make life meaningful is put in place.”

Akanni noted that The Criterion was established about 40 years ago as a faith-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) committed to all-round societal development.

She said: “We are a Muslim organisation passionate about the welfare of women and children. Our core values are integrity, empathy and competence. We focus majorly on education, reproductive health and economic empowerment.

“Our aims and objectives, among others, are to be a vanguard of Islamic propagation and to strengthen Islamic faith in Nigeria and the whole world. We encourage all-round education both in the mundane and religious matters. We advocate improved budgetary allocation to education by government at all levels.

“We are a strong advocate towards government giving priority to maternal and child health. We mobilize women on the need to enable healthy living within the family and encourage them to partake in decision making process in their immediate community.”

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