Workshop on The Role of Women in the Development of OIC Member States
Date: 03-04 October 2016
Venue: Ankara - Türkiye

SESRIC organised in coordination with the OIC General Secretariat a Workshop on “The Role of Women in the Development Of OIC Member States” in Ankara, Turkey on 03-04 October 2016, where senior officials from related ministries and OIC Institutions discussed the issues related to the empowerment of women to enable them efficient participation in the development of Muslim Societies.

During the opening session, H.E Amb. Musa Kulaklıkaya, Director General of SESRIC, welcomed the participants and expressed his delight at the convening of the workshop on “The Role of Women in the Development of OIC Member States”. He further briefed the audience on SESRIC’s activities in this domain and stated that ‘’strong and healthy societies are comprised of cohesive families in which women and men are treated equally in all aspects of social and economic life’’.

Ms. Gülser Ustaoğlu, Director General of the Status of Women Directorate of the Ministry of Family and Social Policies of Republic of Turkey, briefed the participants on the policies and practices in place in different fields such as education, health, employment and combating violence against women.

H.E. Ms. Mehla Ahmed Talebna, Director General of Cultural, Social and Family Affairs at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) welcomed the participants and underlined the vital role of the OIC towards gender equality and women rights in Islamic world. She also expressed the support of OIC to Member States and OIC institutions in their efforts towards empowering and advancing women.

The two day workshop provided representatives of the relevant ministries in the OIC Member States and those of the relevant OIC institutions a distinct opportunity to discuss and deliberate on the recent developments related to gender and women in the OIC Member States. In this regard, the workshop, setting forth the possible contributions to be made by women, discussed the major challenges and obstacles facing women in the OIC Member States. During the workshop, delegates of OIC Member States delivered presentations on their national experiences and best practices in the empowerment of women in OIC Member States.

Furthermore, Prof. Dr. Nurşin Ateşoğlu Güney, Head of Department of Political Science and International Relations at Yıldız Technical University, delivered a presentation on women’s role in maintaining peace and security in OIC Member States where she highlighted women’s participation and role in resolving and preventing conflict as essential ingredient of peace-building, peace-keeping and reconstruction process.

Regarding women in media, Dr. Zahera Harb, senior lecturer in International Journalism at City University in London delivered a presentation on the challenges facing the representation of women in both western and eastern media. During the same session, Ms. Maha Akeel, Director of Information Department at OIC presented an overview of ‘’The Global Media Monitoring Project’’, its main goals, findings and implications.

After exchanging views, knowledge and expertise among participants on different topics related to women, the workshop came up with concrete recommendations especially on the OIC Plan of Action for the Advancement of Women (OPAAW) and its implementation matrix. The outcome of this workshop will be presented as an input during the Senior Official Meeting of the Sixth Session of the Ministerial Conference on the Role of Women in the Development of OIC Member States.

Documents:

Statements:

  • Opening Statement of Amb. Musa Kulaklıkaya, Director General, SESRIC (English)
  • Opening Statement of Ms. Gülser Ustaoğlu, Director General, Ministry of Family and Social Affairs (English)
  • Opening Statement of Amb. Mehla Ahmed Talebna, Director General of Cultural, Social and Family Affairs, OIC (Arabic)

Presentations:

  • Working Session I:
    • Presentation 1: State of Gender 2016, SESRIC (English)
    • Presentation 2: Process of Updating OPAAW, SESRIC (English)
    • Presentation 3: Summarized OPAAW, OIC (English)
  • Working Session III:
    • Women's Role in Maintaining Peace and Security in OIC MS, Prof Nurşin Ateşoğlu Güney (English)
  • Working Session IV:
  • Working Session VI:
    • Presentation 4: Women in Media, Dr. Zahera Harb (English)
    • Presentation 5: GMMP, Maha Akeel (English)

Photos