A 20-year-old woman, Fatima has taken her father before a Kaduna Shari’a Court for allegedly pressuring her to wed a stranger.
Fatima testified in court that she is in love with someone, and according to reports, her father, Aliyu Muhammad, has threatened to take her to the village and force her into wedlock.
The court was also informed by her attorney, Malam Y.A. Bulama, that his client did not initiate a lawsuit against her father out of disdain for him. Bulama said;
The father wants my client to marry a man in their village in Niger state. Right now she’s living in her aunty’s house because he threatened to take her to the village and marry her off.”
Fatima’s father, however, argued before the court that he had to honor his late parents’ decision to choose a groom for his daughter when they were still alive. He said;
“I married my six daughters off in the village and they are doing well. Fatima’s mother is the brains behind her stubbornness. I need permission to consult with my people over this matter.”
According to Shari’a law, a parent has the right to select a partner for his daughter, however the judge Malam Isiyaku Abdulrahman said that forced marriage is not encouraged. He also advised the father of the daughter to have patience with her.
In his words;
“You are her father, therefore you should pray for the best for her because if you are angry with her she won’t see good things.
“Allow her to present the person she wants to marry and if you are pleased with his religion and character, you allow her to get married”
Forced marriages also occur in Nigeria, especially among the Muslim communities in the North, where the practice is prevalent due to cultural and religious practices linked to polygamy. In the North, forced marriage is common among urban and rural poor population, but not very common among the more educated.