An Islamic scholar, Hajiya
Halima Sani, has stressed the need for women to be educated to enable them play their role well in nation building.
Sani gave the advice in a paper entitled: “The Role of Women in Nation building’’ (Islamic perspective), which she delivered at the annual public lecture organised by the Abuja chapter of the Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria (MMPN).
The lecture was organised to mark Maulud Nabiyyi or the birthday of the Holy Prophet Muhammad.
“When you educate a man, you educate one person, but when you educate a woman, you educate a whole nation. She said, remarking that the woman is the family’s first instructor and the family is the first unit of  the community.
“If, the family structure is strong and upright, the children will be responsible and righteous citizens, and this robs off on the larger society,’’ Sani maintained.
She noted the most important role for a woman, “is to be a good Muslim, living totally in conformity with the tenets of Islam’’, which demands truthfulness and sincerity from her.
“It is the duty of the Muslim woman to stand by the truth, shun dishonesty and falsehood, keep promises made and remaining chaste and trust worthy.’’
Sani said that the present generation had gone rotten, with people doing all forbidden acts, such as gambling, drinking alcohol, fornication, stealing, prostitution and dealing in drugs, because children were not being shown proper love.
She said that parents, especially mothers, are indirectly responsible for what their children become, because when she nurtures her children who are the leaders of the nation, the society will be better off.
In his remark, the Director-General of NTA, Alhaji Musa Mayaki, who was the chairman of the occasion, advised Muslim women to embrace education, to enable them perform their duties as mothers, better.
Earlier in his address of welcome, the Chairman of the MMPN Abuja chapter, Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Balogun, said the lecture was organised to educate and sensitise the public on the role of Muslim women in nation building.
Balogun, who is a Senior Editor with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said that women and men play distinctive roles in nation building, and that Islam did not relegate women to the background.
He explained that the MMPN was formed to among other things, cater for the spiritual advancement of Muslims and encourage literacy and intellectual pursuit.
“As media practitioners, we equally have our watchdog role to play in educating and sensitising the public on the need for tolerance and mutual understanding.’’