HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE SISTERS FORUM.
The Sisters Forum is an intrinsic part of the Islamic Movement. It is as old as the Movement itself. This is due to the fact that right from the onset of the Movement, our dear leader Shaikh Ibraheem Zakzaky emphasised the importance of sisters full participation in the revolutionary process. He emphasised the fact that brothers and sisters have equal roles in the Islamic Movement and of course in Islam as a whole. These roles may be identical in some instances and complementary in some. The Shaikh did not only always encourage us in his speeches but also practically. He gives advices and guidelines to the sisters. He also encouraged the sisters to be innovative and self dependent in organizing programmes and initiating things.
The constant support and encouragement we receive from our leader has led to a lot of positive results. One can fully appreciate this when one looks at the progress we have achieved so far and compares it with the backward status women in the Nigerian society occupied especially when it comes to participating in Islamic activities. In those days (about 25years ago) women were totally absent it the Islamic arena. Infact, the society considers it an abomination for women to participate in Islamic activities. The only places women were conspicuously prominent were ceremonies such as wedding and naming ceremonies. To the extent that when the Shaikh started his revolutionary call he was accused of including women in his activities.
Our dear leader used to reply his critics that since women will be raised from the dead on the day of resurrection and questioned about their lives on this earth, then what answer will they give to Allah on that day if they have no business with religious activities? The unrelented and unwaiving support and encouragement given to us by our leader played the greatest role in boosting the sisters morale. Coupled with the living example of our sisters in the Islamic Republic of Iran under the able leadership and encouragement of the great leader of the global Islamic Movement, Imam Khumaini(R.A.) . The Imam in one of his famous speeches once said that the contributions of our sisters in the process of the successful Islamic revolution in Iran was even greater than those of men. They (the sisters) did not only play crucial roles but also encouraged their husbands and children to be in the fore-front of the struggle.
Alhamdulillah, to this day, the sisters have not only been active in the sisters forum activities but also in the activities of the numerous fora and bodies of the movement e.g. Hurras, Medical Team , Academic Forum, Resource Forum, Shuhada Foundation etc. It is no longer an abomination for sisters or women to be seen in Islamic arenas. Some of the programmes of and activities of the Sisters Forum are meant only for sisters , while others are for both brothers and sisters.
ACTIVITIES:
We organize different activities in different towns , villages and institutions when that is possible. We have scores of activities ranging from; Tadribs, organizing conferences, Lectures, Production of Films, Visiting patients in hospitals, Majlis, and Writing.
1) TADRIB: It is a kind of training programme. We treat scores of issues from self training, (i.e.) how individual sister should develop and maintain good link with her Creator through acts of worship such as Tahajjud (midnight to dawn ) prayers, Du’a, Reading of the Holy Qur’an to Dhikr and other acts of worship.
We also treat ideological and philosophical issues. There are sessions for Tafsir and sometimes fiqh topics very relevant to our daily lives. These Tadribs are of two kinds;(a) Central Tadrib; which takes place quarterly in Zaria and lasts for 3days.It is attended by representatives of sisters from different towns and cities.
b) Local Tadribs; which takes place monthly in different towns and villages.
Most of the sessions in the central Tadrib are conducted by our leader Shaikh Zakzaky himself while some are conducted by some brothers and sisters. Of recent we started regional Tadribs. The first took place in a town called kastina. It was attended by sisters from different towns, cities and villages around Kastina region. This kind is mostly conducted by sisters attending the central Tadrib. The aim is to transmit the exact training we received from our leader to other sisters in other regions.
As already stated, we organize fortnightly ideological and spiritual lectures which is meant for both brothers and sisters. We also hold a general discussion session weekly with the Shaikh. This is of course only attended by very few sisters. Attendance is by invitation We formed a film production group. The film we produced in hausa language is “ KARBALA” ( it is about the shahada of Imam Husain). We are presently in the process of producing another film. It is about the life and Jihad of our Shaikh Uthman bin Fudy.
