By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
Hisbah has announced that parents of reigning Miss Nigeria, Shatu Garko, would be arrested for allowing their daughter to participate in the ‘Unislamic’ Miss Nigeria Beauty pageant.
Shatu Garko became the first woman to win the Miss Nigeria Beauty pageant adorning a hijab. She is 18 years old, from Kano, a predominantly Muslim community.
Kano State Hibah commander Haruna Ibn Sina. says the parents of Shatu Garko, may be arrested during an interview with the BBC Pidgin.
He says they would be interrogated for allowing their daughter to participate in the Miss Nigeria beauty pageant for 2021, describing it as “illegal” and contrary to Islamic beliefs.
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According to the Hisbah commander, while reacting to Shatu Garko’s victory in the beauty pageant, he says participating in a pageant is “forbidden” for Muslims from Kano, a northern Nigerian state with strict Sharia practices.
Sina said they had confirmed that Shatu Garko’s parents are living in Kano and will soon be brought into custody and interrogated for the role their daughter played in the beauty contest, the BBC Pidgin reported on Wednesday morning.
Even though Shatu Garko participated in the pageant adorning her hijab, the Hisbah commander said it was against Quranic instruction.
Shatu Garko, in an interview with the Punch, stated that it was not an easy task convincing her father to allow her to participate in the beauty pageant.
She said: “My mum has always been my biggest supporter so convincing her to let me do this was not difficult. However, my dad was not on board.
“He was worried about me being forced to take off my hijab, or wear a swimsuit, or just being treated differently because of the hijab. My mum and I had to do an entire presentation to convince him. But after that point, I had his full support.”
According to her, critics dissuaded her from competing in the pageant, as they told her that she’d bring Boko Haram into the brand.
The report said naysayers told her to face her schooling instead of going for the contest.
When asked if she received any backlash for her decision to contest, she said: “Yes, and not only from Northerners; from other people too. Some said, ’go to school’ and some said I was going to spoil the Miss Nigeria brand. Others even instigated that I was bringing in Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen. I simply ignored them.”