Emir of Kano Sanusi says any traditional title holder who beats his wife will be stripped of title
July 22nd, 2025
The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has reaffirmed that “whosoever beats and injures his wife is not a good person,” warning that any title holder in his domain caught doing so risks losing his position.
He issued the warning on Monday, 21 July, while receiving a delegation from the development Research and Project Center (dRPC) and the Bayero University’s Center for Islamic Civilisation and Interfaith Dialogue (CICID) at his palace in Kano State.
The visit formed part of the group’s advocacy for their Ford Foundation-funded project mentoring Muslim Opinion Leaders (MOLs) to combat Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Muslim-majority northern Nigerian states.
Sanusi said, “I never believe in beating women, and those who do, are not beating their wives with the intention of reforming them. What we see today is even serious beating and injuring of women in name of reforming them.”
He stressed, “Islam has respected and dignified women more than any other religion and all those seeking cover under it to abuse women do not even underrated the religion.
“Whosoever beats and injures his wife is not a good person. I did not say this, it is the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who said it. It is those who do not read that don’t know.”
The emir, who conducted a five-year study of nine Kano Shari’a courts during his PhD research, described GBV as rampant and urged clerics and Imams to drive societal behavioural change.
“All the legal frameworks needed are already on our Islamic jurisprudence books,” he said, calling for the revival of the Kano State family draft.
CICID Director, Dr Taofeek Abubakar Hussain, told the emir, “Islam is full of justice and respect to women, but part of our culture promotes it.
We engaged and trained clerics who will go back and use their influence to tell people the Islamic position on GBV. It is not part of our religion as no religion protects the rights of women other than Islam.”
Dr Hussain appealed for the family law draft to be revisited and requested that traditional titleholders under the emirate be trained on their roles in addressing GBV.
He added, “Our aim is to use projects like this to tell people the Islamic position on GBV and how it could be reduced to the barest minimum.
“We have partnership with main Imams in Kano and Kaduna and even other parts of the north. We believe in their influence and how that could help achieve the desired result.”
Sahara Reporters