Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 08/03/2016
On the 8th of March every year, the international community celebrates the International Women’s Day, as an opportunity to highlight the pivotal and important role of women in the social, political and economic spheres; and to prompt the international community’s commitments towards women. This commemoration seeks to focus on the difficulties and challenges facing women in their bid to get their rights in all fields of life. It also presents an opportunity to evaluate women’s advancement and empowerment plans, programmes and activities. On this occasion, I am delighted to extend warm greetings and felicitations to women in all parts of the world, particularly to women in the OIC Member States; women in conflict and war zones; and women in refugee camps for their exceptional role and strength of determination to remain steadfast to provide a living for their families under difficult and sometime harsh circumstances. I would like to commend their exceptional role in various fields (political, economic, cultural, social, scientific and technological) in order to nurture and develop their families, communities and countries and for the sake of a prosperous world. I salute them for their role in confronting poverty, marginalization and all forms of violence against women. Women advancement is a priority for the OIC based on its belief that strengthening the role of women in comprehensive development process requires practical necessary measures to be taken at all levels. In this context, decision makers should give special care to adopting policies that would guarantee maximum participation of women in various fields. OIC Member States should also intensify efforts in the areas of education, training and capacity building for women. Therefore, there is an essential need to have a comprehensive future strategy that would help to preserve the values of the institution of marriage and family and preserve the strong fabric of the Muslim community, such being a guarantee and incentive to improve the situation of women in the OIC Member States. Within this framework, the OIC has had, and continues to make efforts to empower and advance women. On implementation of resolution (42/4 C) of the 42nd session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (Kuwait 2015), the General Secretariat reviewed the OIC Plan of Action for the Advancement of Women (OPAAW), taking into account the huge challenges facing women empowerment and the developments in the international arena. In the same vein, the General Secretariat reviewed the content of the OPAAW in order to bring it abreast with the aspirations and objectives of the OIC, and to make sure that is takes into consideration the United Nations agenda for sustainable development as well as relevant international and regional plans; particularly those related to enhancing the role of women in peace and security process in the OIC Member States. The position and efforts of the OIC for the advancement of women is clearly highlighted in the (OIC – 2016 -2025) Programme through enhancing women’s participation in the political, economic, social and cultural spheres and supporting the importance of their role in promoting security and peace. Recently, the OIC General Secretariat appointed highly experienced women in the political, economic and cultural fields to occupy leadership positions in the General Secretariat, as a way of crystallizing the OIC’s vision on women empowerment and enhancing their role at all levels. This year’s OIC slogan for this occasion is: “Empowering Women is Empowering Society”; and therefore allow me to seize this opportunity to call upon the international community, and particularly the OIC Member States to intensify their efforts to relief the suffering of women refugees, those under occupation and of the girl afflicted by AIDS; and pay attention to the mental health of women and children in conflict zones and empower them to play central role in the protection of their families from disintegration; and to rebuild their societies and promote peace and security. They should support women’s efforts to play a qualitative role in ending armed conflicts in a world that is more in need today for such a role.
