A Study of Gender, Religion, and Social Change in Muslim Communities in Kano State

Religion and gender interact in complex and often tension-filled ways in Northern Nigerian Muslim communities, where Islamic interpretive frameworks both constrain and, in some readings, support expanded roles for women. This study examines the interplay of gender, religious authority, and social change in Muslim communities in Kano State, focusing on women's education, mobility, and economic participation as sites of negotiation. A qualitative design employing interpretive phenomenological analysis was adopted, with 50 in-depth interviews conducted with women, male community leaders, and Islamic scholars across Kano Municipal, Kumbotso, and Karaye Local Government Areas. Data were analysed using thematic and discourse analysis. Findings reveal that Islamic interpretation is actively contested within communities, with progressive Islamic scholars advancing gender-inclusive readings that support women's education and conditional economic participation. Women exercise agency through strategic compliance, selective citation of Islamic texts, and collective action through women's Islamic study circles. Younger women demonstrate greater engagement with reformist Islamic scholarship and a more confident articulation of gender rights within an Islamic framework. The study identifies intra-community generational change as a more significant driver of evolving gender norms than external secular advocacy. This research contributes to feminist Islamic studies and social change theory in the North West context. Keywords: gender, Islam, social change, Kano State, Muslim women