Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha has said the OIC, since its inception, has devoted itself to the promotion of the rights and empowerment of Muslim women.
This commitment culminated in the adoption by the OIC Program of Action for the Advancement of Women (OPAAW), widely regarded as a roadmap in Muslim societies, Brahim Taha said before the inaugural session of the International Conference on Women in Islam: Status and Empowerment on Monday in Jeddah, with Muslim women leading delegations from numerous countries and others in high-level positions in the Islamic world, and with representatives of the member states, invitees and experts in attendance.
The three-day conference was organized by the OIC General Secretariat at the invitation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the patronage of the custodian of the two holy mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
Brahim Taha said the conference comes at a time when Palestinians are facing brutal Israeli aggression, and women, particularly Gazan women, as well as children, older people and other innocent civilians are among the victims of bombings.
The most significant number of victims are being slaughtered in the midst of a state of silence, he said.
He stressed that the situation in Gaza places everyone before significant responsibilities that impose themselves on the deliberations of the conference, urging intensified efforts to expose Israeli barbarism and to defend the rights of Palestinian women, the Palestinian people and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque in a situation where it is impossible to separate people from the land or the land from the gruesome reality of Israeli occupation.
The secretary general also affirmed the OIC’s determination to continue constructive dialogue to empower Afghan women and guarantee their right to access education at all levels and participation in public life.
He said the conference will remain a beacon in the OIC and participating bodies’ history for promoting and affirming women’s rights in Islam, noting that the conference will adopt the Jeddah Document on Women’s Rights in Islam.
The OIC chief expressed his sincere gratitude and appreciation to Saudi Arabia for hosting the conference and thanked all participating women figures.
The conference witnessed speeches by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, several foreign ministers, ministers of women and family affairs from OIC member states, and female participants and invitees who presented research papers.
