TEHRAN – Narjes Abolqasemi, an official with the Vice-Presidency for Women and Family Affairs, has been elected as a new member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Women’s Advisory Council.
The two other elected members were from Turkey and Malaysia, IRNA reported.
The election was held during the 9th session of the OIC Conference of Ministers of Women’s Affairs, which was held in Islamabad, Pakistan, on July 12 and 13.
It highlights the country’s active and constructive role in international mechanisms concerning women’s issues in the Islamic world.
The OIC Women’s Advisory Council is responsible for guiding future policies, promoting women’s empowerment, and advocating for their rights; it also serves as an advisory body to the OIC Ministerial Conference.
The ninth Ministerial Conference on Women of the OIC, titled “Socio-Economic and Political Empowerment of Women in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Countries: Challenges and Way Forward”, brought together some 190 delegates from the 57 OIC member.
The conference aimed to boost cooperation among member states on women’s empowerment by enhancing greater socio-economic and political participation across OIC member countries.
It was built on the outcomes of previous OIC ministerial meetings on women, particularly the one held in Cairo in 2021, which focused on women’s empowerment, protection frameworks and enhancing their socio-economic participation.
Addressing the ninth Ministerial Conference on Women of the OIC, the Vice-President for Women and Family Affairs, Zahra Behrouz-Azar, put forward two initiatives to boost collaborations among member states of the OIC for empowering women.
She also expounded on Iranian women’s experiences in scientific, social, and crisis management fields. Iranian women comprise over 56 percent of academic communities, around 46 percent of PhD graduates, and more than 68 percent of specialists in basic sciences, while representing a significant share of faculty members, inventors, and knowledge-based companies’ managers, the official noted.
Highlighting the country’s experiences in managing natural hazards and wartime crises, she said women and children suffer disproportionately during crises, but their voices are often unheard. However, women’s contributions in Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) relief services have proved that the ‘women-for-women’ approach can play a key role in supporting those affected by crises.
Accordingly, Iran’s initial proposal is to establish a ‘network of female relief workers of the Islamic World’ to connect female physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and relief workers from Islamic countries, and benefit from their capabilities to provide more effective support for women and children during crises and strengthen preparedness and cooperation among member states.
The second proposal calls for ‘developing a single brand for products made by Muslim women’ to facilitate access of women’s products to markets in Islamic countries, enhance consumer confidence, expand digital markets, hold collaborative exhibitions, and develop training in exports and branding.
These two proposals are grounded in the shared values of the Islamic world—including human dignity, justice, cooperation, family, and social responsibility- which pave the way for boosting synergy among Islamic nations in supporting women.
MT/MG
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