Pakistan-sponsored ‘Women in Islam’ conference at UN concludes

• Pakistan convened the conference in its capacity
• Bilawal said it was aimed at celebrating achievements of Muslim women
• “They are participating in socio-economic development,” he said.

UNITED NATIONS: A day-long conference on ‘Women in Islam’ ended at UN Headquarters in New York Wednesday evening after speakers rejected the negative stereotyping in the west of Muslim women, and asserting that they enjoy full civil, political, economic and cultural rights.

Pakistan convened the conference in its capacity as the chair of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) on the sidelines of the 67th session of the Status of women (CSW).

“We came together today to deliberate on ways to promote a better understanding of rights and identity of Muslim women in diverse cultural milieus and formulate strategies to ensure the full realization of their rights and aspirations,” Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said in his concluding remarks to the high-level delegates at the conference.

Not only that, he said that the conference was also aimed at celebrating the achievements of Muslim women who have been breaking new grounds in their respective fields.

“I am deeply inspired and heartened by the accomplishments of all our iconic women who are here today and their amazing journeys towards the attainment of their dreams, the foreign minister said, adding, “Their inspiring stories will go a long way towards the empowerment of women and promotion and protection of their rights in both Muslim and non-Muslim societies.”

The opening segment of the conference was addressed, among others, by the President of the UN General Assembly, Csaba Korosi, followed by the Executive Director of the UN-Women, Sima Bahous, the CSW’ Chairperson, Ambassador Mathu Joyini, and Ambassador Hameed Ajibaiye Opeloyeru, OIC Observer Mission to the UN, who delivered a message on behalf of Secretary-General of OIC, Hissein Braham Taha. A recorded message of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed was also played. She conveyed her greetings to the conference on behalf of herself and the Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres.

Declaring the conference closed to a loud applause, FM Bilawal said the international community must recognise that Muslim women in their societies are acting as agents of change.

“They (Muslim women) are actively participating in the socio-economic development of their respective countries. More importantly, instead of being passive members of their societies, they are redefining and reshaping the role and identity of Muslim women.

“To overcome the perception and reality gap, and the negative stereotyping, it is essential to create global awareness of the rights bestowed by Islam to women,” the foreign minister added.

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But he said challenges to women’s empowerment and the enjoyment of their rights remain — both for Muslim and non-Muslim women,” noting that some of them flow from poverty, under-development and conflicts. “We must make collective efforts to address these challenges” he said.

Financing was critical to overcoming the crisis in health and education, in particular to bridge the knowledge gap and the digital divide, and to harness the potential of technologies for all Muslim women and girls” FM Bilawal said. Financial mobilization should include debt relief, concessional finance, Official Development Assistance and the redistribution of existing and new SDRs (Special Drawing Rights).

International financial institutions and the private sector, he said, should promote sustained gender-responsive, community-driven approaches for women’s economic inclusion and participation, including support for social protection systems and assistance to Governments for gender-sensitive and gender-responsive budgeting.

Government representatives and policymakers need to review and reform laws that discriminate against women, including those that restrict their economic, social, cultural and political rights in Muslim and non-Muslim countries, including restrictions to women’s access to inheritance, property, and credit, as well as those that limit their ability to participate in the labour force.

The foreign minister said that ongoing conflicts, including situations of foreign occupation, were destroying the lives of millions of Muslim women and girls. OIC member states, with the cooperation of international community and international financial institutions, must also initiate programmes to assist Muslim women and girls living in conflict zones or under foreign occupation, such as in Jammu and Kashmir and Palestine.

“Our loadstar should continue to be the empowerment, inclusion and participation of women in every sphere of life i.e social, political, legal, economic and cultural. Let us all work towards making this decade, the decade of gender equality,” FM Bilawal added.

In his remarks, Korosi, the General Assembly president, said it was important for men to show support for gender equality through words and action.

“Given the multiple crises we face, equal rights and opportunities for men and women must be reached and maintained all over the globe,” he added.

Other speakers including Indonesia, the largest Muslim populous country, Saudi Arabia, the land of Muslim’s holiest sites from Makkah to Madinah, Palestine, the home of the Al Aqsa Mosque, called for addressing the perception-reality gap on the rights of women in Islam while denouncing the mischaracterization by extremists and Islamophobes of their rights.