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One of the foremost women’s rights
activist and politicians in Nigeria, Laila Dogonyaro, died on Thursday
at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano after a short illness.

Mrs. Dogonyaro, who was 67 years
old, was one of the founding members of Jam‘iyar Matan Arewa, the first
women’s group in the North which was established in 1963 to help the
less fortunate women in their community, with the assistance of Ahmadu
Bello, who was the Premier of the North.

The group later expanded to
establish a nursery, primary and secondary school, which is also a
centre for WAEC and NECO examinations.

She vigorously campaigned for
female child education and women’s suffrage. She also greatly encouraged
women participation in politics.

Described as the “Queen of Modern
Northern Politics”, when asked how people react to the fact that she is a
Muslim woman involved in politics, she responded: “What has religion to
do with it! Why should the fact that I am a Muslim woman surprise
anyone?”

Mrs Dogonyaro’s campaign on
sensitization and economic empowerment of women led to the establishment
of the Women’s Development Centre. She also held the position of
President of the National Council for Women Societies in 1998.

However, she was also very
traditional and held some pretty conservative views. For instance, she
opposed what she said was the show of nudity, the Miss World Pageant
which was supposed to be held in Nigeria, but was abruptly moved to
London in 2002 following protests over an article published by a
newspaper.

Laila Dogonyaro’s accomplishments
gained her the Nigerian Merit Award: Officer of the Order of the Niger
(OON) and a traditional title, Gakuwar Garki, among many other awards.

She was survived by her four
children: Mohammed Ahmed, Mairo Hassan Hussein, Binta Dogonyaro, and Isa
Dogonyaro and grandchildren.

She was buried in her village, Garki, Jigawa State, on Friday.