ABSTRACT
Introduction Several Women non-governmental organizations were involved in the defence of Amina Lawal in her Zina (adultery) trial. After her acquittal, it appeared that there was unanimity in the conclusion that women and women organizations have acquired significant knowledge of Islam and, supposedly, Islamic law, to marshal appreciable arsenal in the defence of women living under Shari’a or Islamic law. This is interesting, not just for the fact that there is a supposition that hitherto knowledge of Shari ’a or Islamic law was the privileged domain of men alone, but that there existed the perception that aspects of Shari'a or Islamic law were biased and prejudiced against women. It would seem several women organizations believe that Shari’s is anti women because the laws were made by men. The amount of literature now available advancing this position is staggering, with most of them coming from established local and international NGOs. As civil society organizations, the NGOs have added their weight to the discussion on the perceived Shari’a gender-bias against women and are championing a crusade to ensure that women are given adequate protection under the new Shari’a criminal justice system. The involvement of the NGOs in highlighting the gender sensitive elements in the Shari’a (subsequently, Islamic law)1 in Nigeria only serve to confirm their role as a part of society that has a life of its own, which is distinct from the state and fairly autonomous from it,2 thus enabling them to influence and affect public attitudes towards an issue. It is because of this that any observation emanating from civil society organizations is being taken seriously. On the issue of the adultery cases decided by Shari’a courts in Nigeria, civil society organizations have acquired front seats and are generating critical material, including advocating strongly that the legislature should hasten the process of repealing all laws, including religiouslyinspired laws that discriminate against women.
