Women's Place, Islamic Education, and Aspirations for Daughters in a Northern Nigerian Town

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

0130355 Renne This research by an anthropologist from the University of Michigan will examine the impact of Islamic education on the perspectives and practices of women in Northern Nigeria. This demographic anthropological study of married Hausa Muslim women's participation in Islamic adult education programs in the town of Zaria, Nigeria, will report on women's perceptions of moral conduct in social relations, and will examine women's views of what they have gained-intellectually, socially, morally and economically-from their attendance at Islamic education classes. The project will compare the moral views, social and economic preferences, and aspirations for daughters of schooled and non-schooled women through a survey of 540 women. The role of women's education in affecting changes in marital age and health is important to understand, as prior research shows that a mother's increased education is one of the best predictors of gains in maternal and child health. This project's focus on Islamic, as opposed to Western education, has wider implications as it will advance our understanding of this relationship in a different educational regime.