Give women six months’ maternity leave – MURIC

A group, Muslim Rights Concern, has urged government at all levels and owners of companies to give women six months maternity leave.


The group in a Ramadan message by its Director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, lamented that the three months maternity leave given to women was insufficient and against medical advice.

Akintola, who advocated cordial interactions between leaders and the led, masters and servants, workers and employers; explained that three months maternity leave did not guarantee safety of both the mothers and their children.

  He said, “MURIC uses this occasion to call on the Nigerian authorities to show mercy to working-class nursing mothers by increasing the period of their maternity leave by three months. Hitherto, nursing mothers enjoy three months only as maternity leave.

 “We consider the three months leave as inadequate and unrealistic in view of recommendations coming from medical experts that newly born babies should be strictly placed on only breast-milk diet for the first six months.

“Experience has also shown that nursing mothers who work in offices undergo a lot of hardship on resumption as they are compelled to start work after just three months. The sufferings of these nursing mothers are transferred to and shared by their innocent babies.”

  He, however, appealed to lawmakers in the country to enact a bill that would mandate six months’ maternity leave for women.

He said, “It is significant to note that our Holy Book stipulates a two-year breastfeeding period. Modern science has only recently discovered that breast milk is the best for babies. MURIC calls on the National Assembly to initiate an enabling bill in this regard

“Finally, we assert that the Nigerian woman deserves the pride of place in the Nigerian society. We therefore charge the federal and state governments to adopt policies capable of reducing poverty among Nigerian women in general.”

Meanwhile, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at Nigeria, in its Eid-el-Fitri message, urged government and well–meaning Nigerians not to relent in their effort in reducing poverty in the country.

It said, “We should show concern for the poor in a practical manner. All hands should be on deck to fight for the alleviation if not eradication of poverty and joblessness afflicting our people. That way we shall succeed in poverty and joblessness eradication ultimately.”