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Lajna Imaillah Ghana launches centenary celebration to empower women
Speaking at the event in Accra at the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission House, the Chairperson of the launch, Hajia Anisa Nasirudeen, said the initiative was established to acknowledge the role of women in the various Muslim communities.
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Recounting the history of the LIG, she said the association, christened with the Arabic phrase Lajna Imaillah (which translates to “the maidservant of Allah” in English) was established on December 25, 1922 to acknowledge the role of Ahmadi women in administrative affairs of communities.
“It was established to help the resurgence of Islam and acknowledge that the role of Ahmadi women were as substantial as that of men. So, they must be well educated according to the tenets of Islam. In Ghana, it began in 1967,” she added.
She said the theme “Building resilience in self-reformation: a path to peace and sustainable development,” was drawn from the Holy Qur’an, which encourages members to increase steadfastness by performing Salat and paying contributions to attract the blessings of Allah.
She added that the LIG had membership in over 200 countries, and as part of events leading to the launch, they had planted over 7,000 trees and made donations to some children’s hospitals and orphanages across the country.
Challenge
For her part, the Deputy Minister of Information, Madam Fatima Abubakar, challenged Muslim women to put themselves up for elected office at the district, assembly, municipal, electoral and other levels.
She further urged parents to encourage their female children to take formal education seriously to safeguard their futures.
“Parents should encourage their girl child to take both secular and Islamic education seriously and instil good behaviour into the younger generation as this will ensure a better future,” she added.
In a similar vein, the Paramount Queen mother for the Osu Traditional Area, Naa Akua Ntswaban IV, said: “If you educate a man you educate an individual but if you educate a woman you educate the whole nation”.
She motivated women to work hard in zeal, confidence and to dominate in leadership fields because “what men can do, women can do better”.
The Missionary in charge of Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission, Mr Maulvi Muhammed Bin Salih, explained that the LIG was playing the role of liberating woman from the shackles of the modern world.
He added that it was also ensuring that the Muslim woman played a key administrative role in affairs of all organisations that existed in this world.
Significance of theme
A keynote speaker, Madam Sakeena Bonsu, said a key phrase from the theme was self-reformation, advising Muslims to think of their own self-reformation first and to build resilience, which would challenge them to aspire for higher moral and spiritual heights.
“This will aid in the attainment of sustainable self-development and all other forms of success for the country and world,” she said.
She said “nations will climb or fall depending on how the people live to their responsibilities. If a Muslim is able to comply with the five pillars of Islam, as well as the fundamentals of the Holy Qur’an, he or she becomes a complete human being and is able to tackle issues of peace and sustainable development. Without peace, there will be no development and vice versa.”
She, however, encouraged Muslims to take advantage of technology so that they would not fall behind, as well as be innovative and cautious in selecting leaders.