Conference frowns at adoption of Western culture by Hausa women

Alqalam University, Katsina, in collaboration with the Pleasant College of Advanced Studies (PCAS), Katsina, has organised a national conference on women and their contributions to the Hausa society. In her keynote address on Monday in Katsina, the Provost, Dr. Yusuf Bala College, Daura, Prof. Sadiya Sani-Daura, expressed concern over the adoption of Western culture by Hausa women in northern states.

According to her, the adoption of Western culture by Hausa women has really affected their ways of life, hence the need for them to remember the implications of their actions. Sani-Daura pointed out that if the habit continued, much of Hausa culture would disappear and it would not be good for the people. She said though women had contributed a lot to the development of the Hausa society, they had also abandoned a lot of their earliest culture.

According to her, women have abandoned their original mode of dressing, traditional foods and other things that related to their original culture. Many may not be aware of what is happening, but she hoped at the end of the conference, the participants will have something to go back home with as a solution to the problem before it consumes us.

Earlier in his remarks, the Deputy Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Muhammad Abubakar, commended the organisers for choosing the theme entitled "Challenges and contributions of women to the development of Hausa society, from the earliest time to the 21st century". According to him, the conference came at the right time when women mostly concentrated on adopting Western ways of life and other vices. He called on Northern women, especially the Hausas, to ignore such and adopt their original culture and religion in order to have a better society. Abubakar expressed the hope that the conference would contribute towards the revival of the culture, especially that of the Hausa women.