The Sharia Court of Appeal in Kwara state has warned that the government and private companies are forcing married women to drop their father’s name, calling it un-Islamic and unconstitutional. The Grand-Kadi of the Kwara State Sharia Court of Appeal, Hon. Judge Mohmmed Ola Abdulkadir made the announcement at the public presentation of the renamed legal report, saying that the demand not only contradicted the dictates of the faith, but also violated women’s fundamental rights . He added that such practices are not in the least supported by any known public service rules.
The Grand Kadi said: “However, the Kwara State Sharia Court of Appeals was recently baffled and surprised that a state government agency allegedly attempted to force married Muslim women officials to drop their fathers’ names.”
To put it mildly, this is not only contrary to the commandments of the faith, but also violates their fundamental rights and is not supported by any known public law regulations. The government is urged to bring the affected facilities to order. Judge Abdulkadir also said the court also saw an increase in marriage license applications due to the increasing recognition of Muslim couples by foreign embassies.
The Grand Kadi commended the state government for supporting the court and providing some of its motions that will help ensure smooth adjudication, and called on the state government to consider other court claims to ensure justice. Regarding the Law Report, he said the previous annual report has been scaled up to a Law Report to capture and review the Court’s activities over the past several years to encourage renewed engagement and better and improved justice delivery. We are all aware that the impact of the COVI-19 pandemic and national industrial action initiated by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) have hampered court performance across the country over the past two years.
Notwithstanding this, our register regarding our jurisdiction shows that 58 matters from 2019 were brought forward to 2020, while 45 motions and appeals were filed within the year under review. A total of 60 cases were settled, leaving 43 cases pending at various stages.” Responding to a request for help in distributing the property of the deceased Muslims under Sharia law, Judge Abdulkadir said the court, under the Islamic law body, received about 300 applications received and processed. He added: “In the area of non-judicial jurisdiction of the court, about 300 requests for comfort letters and assistance in distributing the estate of deceased Muslims were received and processed during the year covered by this report. This non-judicial jurisdiction of the Sharia Court of Appeal is exercised in accordance with the body of Islamic law, particularly the Maliki School of Thought, which administers the administration of the estate of Muslims after the death of an individual experienced scholar, institution or competent judge. . Said body of Islamic law is legally and constitutionally applicable before the Sharia Court of Appeal.
