Women's History Month: Nana Asma’u

[Aja Gilles]

Nana Asma’u was born Asma’u bint Shehu Usman dan Fodio in Degal, present-day Northern Nigeria. Born into a powerful family of scholars, Nana Asma’u received a great education and had a passion for writing poetry. Many of her writings were used to spread the faith of Islam and focused on the leadership and right’s of women. She was an advocate for women’s education and established the yan-taru, a program consisting of female teachers who would travel to rural villages to educate women. An early feminist icon, Nana Asma’u is still a revered figure with schools bearing her name and her teachings still recited.