The Criterion, an association of Muslim women in business and the professions, is set to deliberate on how women can foster and promote peace and tranquillity in Nigeria and across the world.
The group’s Amirah, Alhaja Medinat Akanni, disclosed this in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, on Tuesday.
Akanni spoke at a news conference organised for the 12th National and 3rd International Biennial Conference of the association.
She said that the theme of the 2023 Conference is: Peace Building: The Role of Muslim Women in Our Society”.
According to her, the carefully chosen theme is very apt to the present economic and political situation facing not only Nigeria, but the world at large.
She said: “Most nations are not at peace as there is one disturbance or the other and where there is no peaceful co-existence 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 to economy, health, social life just to mention a few.”
Akanni described peace building as an activity that aims to resolve injustice in nonviolent ways and to transform the cultural and structural conditions that generate deadly or destructive conflict.
She asserted that Islam encourages non-violent conflict resolution methods through the deployment of peace making processes such as open communication and third party mediation.
READ ALSO:
Alleged spending of N400m for house running: Adeleke tackles APC National Secretary
Sponsoring lies against me won’t remove me as minister, Matawalle tells Zamfara governor
Anambra: House of Reps to intervene in oil-rich community violent crisis
“As a women organisation, we have intervened in settling matrimonial disputes and empowered individuals economically, thereby playing our roles as the central caretakers of families,” she said.
She observed that the family is responsible for the nurturing, guiding and reformation of men and women.
On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Akanni advised women across the world to beseech Allah to bring about peace and tranquillity among fighting groups.
She noted that Islam has described Muslims as one Ummah who should strive to bring about peace across the world.
The Amirah stated that one of the aims and objectives of the Criterion is to encourage, promote and foster the spirit of Islamic sisterhood by ensuring “we live at peace at all times”.
She added that the organisation ensures that anything that will make life meaningful is put in place.
“We are an NGO. We abide by the Qur’an and Hadith, and have been playing critical roles in facilitating a linkage between global and regional organisations. Several times we have lent our voice in the affairs and issues bedevilling our nation.
“We have had the course to intervene in issues that can bring chaos and affect peaceful co-existence between the two prominent religions in the country,” she said.
Akanni stated that the organisation intervened to resolve the issue of Nigerian Muslim students being denied the use of Hijab in Schools.
She submitted that the Criterion also intervened on humanitarian grounds to provide succour during the COVID-19 pandemic and the religious crisis in the North leading to the creation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps. NAN
The Criterion Muslim Women group in Ilorin on Tuesday for the 12th National and 3rd Biennial Conference on Peace.