Emir Sanusi’s Comment Concerning Domestic Violence Sparks Social Media Reaction

Posted by Nwa Diokpa Featured, Latest Headlines, News Across Nigeria Wednesday, December 11th, 2024

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – On Tuesday, a former Central Bank Governor and Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, sparked social media reactions after he stated that he always tells his daughters when they are getting married that if their husbands slap them, he expects them to return the slap.

Emir Sanusi, who is the 16th emir of Kano, stated this while speaking at the National Dialogue Conference on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) prevention from an Islamic perspective stated that wife beating, domestic violence form 45 per cent of cases across nine Sharia Courts of Kano in five years. The monarch said: “You can take that verse and say that as a husband, I’ve been given this permission to beat my wife lightly. And nobody will deny that, nobody will say it is haram if you comply with all the rules. But if you live in a society in which those rules are never applied, nobody who is angry remembers to look for a chewing stick or a handkerchief.

“They just slap these women and punch them and kick them and beat them. I just wrote a doctoral thesis on family law, and I did research on nine courts, nine Sharia courts in Kano. 41% of the cases over a five-year period had to do with maintenance. 26 per cent had to do with harm. And out of those, 45 per cent were cases of wife beating, domestic violence. And when we go to the content analysis, not one case of wife beating was light beating. We had women whose limbs were broken. We had women whose teeth were knocked out. We had women who were victims of constant beating with sticks.

“We had women where the husband and his other wives beat one of the wives. We’ve had cases of Cardis having to send her sons to trial for criminal assault because of the nature of the beating against their wives. This is the common beating that happens. Beating your wife or beating your daughter or beating a woman is prohibited. It is a crime. Let’s not even talk about handkerchiefs or chewing sticks. It is just haram. It is prohibited. Allah says, All harm must be removed. And beating, gender-based violence is harmful. And it must be removed. It just does not make sense.

“Now I said it before, and I know I’ve been attacked for it, and I’ll continue saying it. When my daughters are getting married, I say to them, if your husband slaps you, and you come home and tell me my husband slapped me, without slapping him back first, I will slap you myself because I did not send my daughter to marry somebody so he can slap her. If you do not like her, send her back to me. But don’t beat her. And we must teach our daughters not to take it. And also teach our sons that it is not allowed to happen. It is not acceptable. It cannot happen. We have to bring up our children to understand that violence against the body of another human being, whether it’s your brother, or your sister, or your son, or your daughter, or your wife, that violence against persons violates the basic dignity of a human being.”

The position of the monarch concerning wives retaliating when physically abused by their husbands has generated lots of concern as many netizens criticised the statement of the emir according to them “an eye for an eye makes the world go blind”. The African Examiner gathers some of the thoughts of netizens as seen on X.

@kpapkando writes: “Lol. Slap for slap could escalate things to unintended damage. The importance of marrying within your class and being independent at play. I don’t understand why he’s discussing this openly; shouldn’t it be a private father-to-daughter and son-in-law conversation?”

@Mrlekan213 writes: “Lmao Be ready to have them back when their husband chase them.”

@AndyjnrUmaru writes: “i will tell my daughters to also pack and leave after returning the slap, before one yeye man kpai daughter.”

@funso38 writes: This man can your daughter rescue herself if the fight turned to violence.”

@afrotrax writes: “I believe no one should have to endure violence in any form. While I understand the intent behind Emir Sanusi’s statement — possibly as a call for women to stand up for themselves — retaliation can escalate situations and create more harm.”

@anasuachara writes: “An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind. Violence is never a response to violence. Dialogue is the supreme strategy in relationships. Where dialogue cannot bring amicable settlement, then divorce should be pursued.”

@DanielRegha writes: “No-one supports abuse, but telling or advising ladies to sl@p their husbands back will only escalate matters, which can endanger someone’s life. The lady should walk away from the relationship & take legal action if she wants. Retaliation has led to lost of lives.”

@DAllSeeinRetina writes: “So if them marry Elon Musk…they should slap them back…these rules are for poor and broke men sha and maybe little rich men.”

@declasiqstudio_ writes: “Every one should keep their hands to their selves, No one should raise hand to slap or hit no matter the situations or how upset you are, I hate physical violence.”

@KemPatriot writes: “Why would anyone resort to slapping in a relationship in the first place? That’s the real question we should be asking. A slap is one of the most demeaning acts you can inflict on another person—let alone your spouse. Anyone who initiates such behavior is a beast.”