The workshop, which was also to equip the Imams on how the rights could be enhanced to promote development and wellbeing of women and the girl child, was on the theme: "linking principles of human rights with the Quran and Sunnah to promote wellbeing of women and girls".

Hajia Aisha Abdul-Kadir, National Secretary, FOMWAG said the workshop was necessitated after outcomes from a religious leaders' training organised in Senegal in December last year.

She said it revealed that women especially Muslim women were lagging behind as far as human rights issues were concerned.

She said they realised that the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet had many references to talk about rights of women, but they were not discussed for women to realise their rights within which to operate.

She said they felt the need to mobilise and engage the Imams who were the authentic channels of communication for the Muslim community and the workshop would offer women the technical knowledge to realise their rights on issues relating to leadership, education, marriage, divorce, inheritance and other socio-economic developmental issues.

Hajia Abdul-Kadir said; "Women have so many rights in Islam and some men are taking advantage of the fact that women are naive about the rights and they end up violating the rights of such women in their marital homes".

She said it was about time for the Imams to rise to use their platforms especially the Friday sermons to preach about some of the rights that the Quran talked about in favour of women and girls so that the congregation would hear and work on it.

"If women are also educated about certain rights they have as far as the Quran and Sunnah are concerned they would also come out wholeheartedly to work within the confines of the Quran for their own development and the society," she said.

She urged the participating Imams to take advantage of the opportunity to help change the narrative in most Muslim communities.