A two-day meeting of the foreign ministers of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) will begin in Cairo today. This follows a resolution adopted by an OIC foreign ministers’ meeting held in Yemen’s capital Sanaa in 2005.
The resolution urged the OIC members to take necessary steps for the empowerment of women in their countries. It also called for holding a ministerial meeting to discuss women’s issues and find ways for their effective participation in social development. The conference also declared the first of October as the Day for Women and Children who fall victims to war and occupation in the Muslim world.
An exceptional summit meeting of Muslim countries held in Makkah in 2005 also stressed the role women should play in the development of their societies and adopted a 10-year program aimed at enhancing the advancement of women in economic, cultural, social and political fields. The program should be implemented on the basis of the values of justice and equality propounded by Islam guaranteeing women’s protection from all forms of the violence and discrimination.
As decided in the meeting, the first ministerial meeting of the OIC foreign ministers was held in Istanbul in November 2006. The meeting reiterated the need for chalking out an action plan for Muslim women’s advancement. It also set up a forum to discuss the strategy for the development of women including measures to end all forms of violence against women and their protection from poverty.
In fact, women in Muslim countries are not backward. They occupy important positions such as university professors, ministers, members of Parliaments and doctors. The slogans such as “feminine rights” and “equality with men” suggesting suppression and abuse of Muslim women are raised by Westerners. Ironically, it was the women in the West who were living under suppression. They got their rights following the Industrial Revolution and the migration of men in search of jobs. Simultaneously women were forced to work along with men, which eventually deprived them of their feminine nature.
The West wants the Muslim women to go for work and give up their family obligations.
Fiederina Sobaih, who embraced Islam five years ago, has said in a press interview that Muslim woman enjoys peace of mind and happiness. “She derives them from the Islamic values in which she believes. She is patient and seeks refuge in Allah against all sufferings in life. That is why the mothers of martyrs can withstand their grief. A Muslim woman is capable of facing any trial in her life because of her strong faith,” Sobaih said.
She continued, “On the other hand, a Western woman is hounded by various problems that finally force her to commit suicide. She does a number of things without being aware of the consequences of what she is doing.” However, Islam has granted Muslim woman her rights in full and in unequivocal terms though society does not care for these rights, she added.
A visit to the website of the US Justice Department will reveal the sad plight of women in the US, the most advanced country in the world. The department says that the US has the highest number of women beaten by their husbands or friends in the world.
