Sambo’s wife urges Muslim women to embrace hijab

Wife of Nigeria’s Vice President, Hajiya Amina Namadi Sambo, has urged Muslim women in the country to embrace Islamic code of dressing, Hijab, irrespective of the challenges they may be facing in the society.

She was addressing Muslim women at the World Hijab Day celebration, held at the Abuja National Mosque, yesterday.
Mrs. Sambo, who was Special Guest at the occasion, said the Muslim women should teach their daughters and sisters the right and proper manner of dressing in line with the teachings of Islam, to enhance their safety and dignity.
“Even if not for divine safety, the Hijab is needed to protect women from abuse and disrespect as investigations have shown that various forms of sexual abuse, rape and other forms of harassment, which are on the increase in the societies, are due to indecent dressing by women”, Amina Namadi Sambo stated.
She also called on men not to look lustfully at women other than their wives, as enjoined by the Holy Quran, saying however that, indecent dressing by women sends mixed signals to men, who believe that women want their advances by the way they reveal their bodies while the Hijab, on the contrary, sends a signal to men that the wearer is a modest and chaste woman who should not be harassed.
Sambo lamented the influence of new technologies which promote cultures and traditions with negative values and ethos, and therefore urged the women to wear the Hijab with pride and faith so as to earn Allah’s reward.
Speaking at the event, the National Ameerah Women in Da’awah, Hajiya Maryam Othman said the essence of commemorating the day was to continue to raise awareness on the real meaning of the Hijab, its status in Islam and what it represents to Muslim women the world over and to clear misconceptions about the Islamic code of dressing.
According to her, “The Hijab, which is the Muslim woman’s outer garment, has continued to elicit mixed reactions all over the world, with a dimension added to it in Nigeria, where female suicide bombers adorned the Hijab to perpetrate evil acts.”
According to her, the theme of this years’ Hijab Day, which is ‘Hijab- My God Given Right; My symbol for good and not evil’, was a systematic and conscious effort to educate people and correct the misconceptions concerning the Hijab.
In her own remarks, Hajiya Amina Gambo Jimeta, called on young girls to embrace the Islamic code, to safe guard themselves and sanitise the society.