OIC symposium highlights demand for greater women’s participation in peace and security

OIC symposium highlights demand for greater women’s participation in peace and security

Jeddah (UNA-OIC) – The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held on Tuesday a virtual three-part interactive lecture on “Women for Peace and Security”.

The event, which is an important part of the OIC monthly lecture series, brought together three lecturers who presented each, women’s contribution in their respective countries, toward the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1325 on Women and Peace and Security (2000).

Speakers included Regional President of ECOWAS Women’s Peace and Security Network Ms. Diago Diagne Ndiaye, who assessed that despite countless initiatives on the ground thus far, women’s participation in the processes for peace and security falls far below target in this part of the African continent. She stressed that the results sought by the network to this end are still far from sufficient.

For her part, Ms. Fawzia Koofi, a member of parliament in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and a member of the OIC Women Advisory Council, said that women’s participation in the effort for peace and security cannot be overemphasized. Women in various provinces of Afghanistan are the most vulnerable to the impact of wars and conflicts, she further argued.

Also speaking at the OIC “Women for Peace and Security” lecture was Ms. Sulaima Ishaq Al-Khalifa, Director General of the Unit to Combat Violence against Women (CVAW) of Sudan’s Ministry of Labor and Social Development, who called attention to the importance of a national-level approach involving the whole of Sudan to help implement UNSC Resolution 1325. For Sudan, with the current political transition or with previous government experiences, or at times of war or when prosperity and stability are restored to the country, it is important to see this landmark UN resolution fully carried out, she concluded.

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