Recent Issues

OIC Women and Development Report 2021 (08 June 2021)

OIC Women and Development Report 2018 (30 November 2018)

State of Gender in OIC Countries: Prospects and Challenges (2016)

Introduction

Advancement and empowerment of women in OIC member countries is a key priority area identified under the OIC-2025 Programme of Action. This is in consideration of the finding that, as a demographic group, women are perhaps one of the most marginalized and vulnerable groups owing to the gender disparity between men and women in many OIC member countries. As a result, women in many OIC member countries are not able to contribute fully to the development of their respective societies.

To address these common concerns and mutual challenges, the OIC member countries have taken policy actions at both the national level and intra-OIC cooperation level by holding seven sessions of the Ministerial Conference on the Role of Women in the Development of OIC Member States. In the 2nd session of the Ministerial Conference, held in 2008, OIC Member countries unanimously adopted the initial OIC Plan of Action for the Advancement of Women (OPAAW), to address a range of difficulties faced by women, and outlines ways and mean to eliminate discrimination based on gender to reduce the social, economic and political inequalities between women and men.

In tandem with the efforts of OIC Member States, SESRIC has been preparing the OIC Women and Development Report since 2006, to serve as the technical background document for the biennial Ministerial Conference on the Role of Women in the Development of OIC Member States. These reports study the barriers to reducing gender inequality and the potential role of women and strong family structures in achieving sustainable development. The reports provide policy suggestions for overcoming specific challenges faced by women in the OIC Member countries by utilizing the latest statistics from a wide range of national and international sources such as UN Women, OECD, UNDP and World Bank.