Islamabad to host 2-day OIC moot on women empowerment from Sunday

Islamabad is set to host the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) 9th Ministerial Conference on Women on July 12-13, with delegations beginning to arrive on Saturday.

The conference, with the theme “Socio-Economic and Political Empowerment of Women in the OIC Countries: Challenges and Way Forward”, is being organised by the human rights ministry and will be held at the Jinnah Convention Centre.

It will bring together ministers responsible for women and family affairs, senior government officials, representatives of OIC institutions, international organisations and development partners to deliberate on advancing the socio-economic and political empowerment of women across the OIC member states, state-run APP noted.

Minister for Law, Justice and Human Rights Azam Nazeer Tarar will chair the conference on behalf of Pakistan.

As the chair, Pakistan will lead the conference proceedings and work closely with OIC member states to foster dialogue, build consensus and advance collective efforts towards the empowerment of women across the Muslim world, APP said.

It added that Pakistan’s hosting of the moot reflected its “steadfast commitment” to OIC’s objectives and to strengthening cooperation among its members in advancing women’s rights, dignity and empowerment.

Over the next two days, participating delegations will engage in high-level discussions to review progress, exchange experiences and best practices, and identify practical pathways for enhancing the socio-economic and political empowerment of women across the OIC member states.

In a post on X on Saturday, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar offered a “warm welcome” to the delegates and wished them “productive discussions and a memorable stay”.

He shared an image highlighting that representatives from 57 OIC member states would gather in the federal capital for the conference.

Some of the visiting delegations were warmly received at Islamabad International Airport today by Minister of State for Law and Justice Barrister Aqeel Malik, Parliamentary Secretary for Human Rights Saba Sadiq, and Parliamentary Secretary for Law and Justice Farah Naz Akbar. Senior officials of the human rights and foreign affairs ministries, along with other government representatives, were also present.

According to posts on X by the human rights ministry, those participating in the conference include Saudi Arabia’s Family Affairs Council Secretary General Dr Maimoonah Khalil Alkhalil, Egypt’s National Council for Women President Amal Ammar, Bangladesh’s Women and Children Affairs Minister Abu Zafar Md. Zahid Hossain, and Iraq’s Vice President for Women and Family Affairs Dr Zainab Al-Mulla Al-Sultani.

Others attending include Libya’s Minister of State for Women’s Affairs Grebe Randa, her Yemeni counterpart Dr Ahed Mohammed Jassous, Nigeria’s Women Affairs Minister Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, Somalia’s Family and Human Rights Development Minister Khadija Makhzoumi, and Mauritania’s Social Affairs Ministry Secretary General Hamoudi Cheikhna Ali.

Pakistan ranked the lowest among 148 countries in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report 2025 — with 56.7 per cent gender parity — the highest since 2006.

The figure was a second consecutive drop from the economy’s best score of 57.7pc, achieved in 2023.

According to the International Labour Organ­isation (ILO), women in wage employment earn approximately 30 per cent lower monthly wages than their male counterparts in Pakistan. ...