Women, Religious Education, and the Transmission of Islamic Knowledge in Kenya, by Hassan Juma Ndzovu - CMS Seminar Series

In Kenya there exist a chain of women educators in religious knowledge amongst the Muslim community. Due to their level of Islamic knowledge, their instructional role has for a long time been restricted to the traditional chuo (Quranic schools) to teach the reading and memorization of the Quran to children. This demonstrates the extent to which Muslim women were denied opportunities to pursue higher Islamic learning beyond the “necessary” basics. Even reputable early Muslim scholars in Kenya, like Sheikh Al-Amin Ali Mazrui (d. 1947) and Sheikh Sayyid Ali Badawi (d. 1963) did not make efforts to recruit and encourage women to advance their knowledge in Islamic education. Despite to the initial setback, presently there is a section of Muslim women who have successfully advanced their religious training through various initiatives. Owing to their advanced education, these women have assumed different roles in disseminating the religious knowledge to the Muslim community in the country.