Muslim parents urged to take their daughters to school
By Godfrey Olukya 01-02-2017
Tanzanian cleric, Sheikh Ahmed Mende has urged Muslim parents in Tanzania and the world over to ensure that their daughters get educated in schools.
While speaking during a Muslim community dialogue in northern Tanzania town of Mwanza, Mende said that in many African communities girls were in the past taken to schools.
He added on that it was more common in Muslim homes because believers knew that as soon as a girl reached puberty she was married off.
”In modern era girls and boys are equal in all aspects. The girls should be taken to schools to acquire knowledge which is to help them in their lives.” Said Mende.
He castigated Muslims who use Koran teaching to marry of under age girls.
He said, ”We are living in the era of knowledge. Whenever some people talk about early marriages and teenage pregnancies, they always cite Islam to justify their acts. They say that Koran allows girls to marry as soon as she gets her first periods. That is not true.”
He said that Muslim girls should be allowed to study until they complete university level before getting married. ”As parents don’t you feel proud when your daughters graduate at universities.’ he asked.
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