Yan Taru

The Yan Taru movement was started by Nana Asma'u dan Fodio in 1838 with the purpose of empowering and educating women in the then Sokoto Caliphate.

With the establishment of the Caliphate in 1808, Shaikh Uthman dan Fodio made educating the women of his new state a priority.

Originally in Arabic, Nana Asma'u translated a considerable number of both classical and modern works to Fulfulde and Hausa to make them more accessible to the non-Arabic speaking public.

Her classes grew larger as women from neighbouring villages regularly visited Sokoto to attend them.

[5][6] The malfa hats were made of fine silky grasses with a distinctive balloon shape as they are intended to be worn over turbans.

Nana Asma'u intentionally used the malfa to devalue its uniqueness and change it from a symbol of the pagan religion of Bori to an emblem of Islam.

[1] At the end of the Sokoto Caliphate and the beginning of British Colonial Northern Nigeria, the leader of the Yan Taru movement was Tamodi, a Granddaughter of Shaikh Uthman dan Fodio.

These organisations have been at the forefront for advocating and campaigning for quality schools and education for women and children in Nigeria especially in the North.