The Kano State Hisbah Board has announced plans to invite the parents of Shatu Garko, the winner of 2021 Miss Nigeria, over their daughter’s participation in the beauty pageant.
Recall that the hijab model, 18-year-old Shatu Garko, recently emerged winner of the 2021 Miss Nigeria beauty pageant.
Garko, a horse-riding lover, represented the North-West region of Nigeria during the pageant.
She was crowned the 44th queen of the competition during the ceremony held in Lagos on Friday night.
Despite being the youngest contestant, Garko beat 17 others to become the first hijab-wearing model to wear the Miss Nigeria crown.
However, in a chat with BBC Pidgin, Haruna Ibn-Sina, Kano Hisbah board commandant, said the invitation was to interrogate Garko’s parents over the participation of their daughter in the contest.
According to him, Garko’s participation in the beauty pageant was against Islamic tenets, adding that such an act could encourage other girls to do the same.
He said, “We (Hisbah) has confirmed that Shatu Garko is a Muslim from Kano State and her parents come from Garko LGA. Kano is a Sharia state and this is why we will not allow the matter to die like that.
“We will invite the parents to talk to them about the actions of their daughter and the fact that what she did is illegal in Islam. This is to make them know that she cannot continue that path and also stop other girls from copying her.”
He further cited several verses in the Quran and teachings in Islam to show Garko’s action is “illegal”.
“In Islam, it is forbidden for anyone to participate in a beauty contest. A lot of things happen in such a contest which is against Islam. For instance, there is usually a lot of people usually exposure their body exposure during the event while such contest teaches girls not to be shy and reserved,” he added.
Ibn-Sina also claimed that the organisers of such beauty pageants are at the risk of God’s wrath.
The Hisbah group in the past destroyed truckloads of alcoholic drinks.
The agency, established to enforce Sharia law in some states in the region, recently placed a ban on the use of mannequins.
It also banned stylish haircuts, sagging of trousers and playing of music at social events by disk jockeys.
A barber and his customers were also arrested recently for haircuts that were offensive to Islam.
Also, in March 2021, Hisbah operatives arrested two men suspected of sending pornographic materials to a married woman.