Syria’s minister of social affairs and labour, Hind Kabawat, led the delegation as few Afghan women were represented in their fight for rights under Taliban rule
[ISLAMABAD] The 9th OIC Ministerial Conference on Women wrapped up on Monday afternoon, with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) urging member states to strengthen women’s participation in politics, the economy, education and society.
One of the resulting Islamabad Declaration’s most significant statements was its explicit reference to Afghanistan, expressing deep concern over continued restrictions on girls’ education and women’s employment, which it described as inconsistent with Islamic values. It called for the removal of educational and professional barriers to ensure the full, equal, and meaningful participation of Afghan women and girls in public life.
The declaration reaffirmed the OIC’s broader commitment to advancing women’s socio-economic and political empowerment across the Muslim world, noting that “the empowerment of women and girls is essential to the progress, resilience and prosperity of OIC societies,” and adding that investing in women’s education, skills, leadership, protection and economic participation is “an investment in the future of the Ummah.”
Held under the theme “Socio-Economic and Political Empowerment of Women in the OIC Countries: Challenges and Way Forward,” the conference brought together more than 190 delegates and participants—including ministers, senior officials and representatives from the OIC’s 57 member states—to discuss women’s education, economic participation, social inclusion and empowerment within the framework of women’s rights in Islam.
OIC Assistant Secretary-General Tarig Ali Bakheet, speaking on behalf of OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha, highlighted that elevating women is a top priority requiring dedicated resources and political effort.
He cautioned that approving the conference resolutions is not the end of the road, emphasizing that actual progress hinges on sustained teamwork, proper financing, and unwavering political commitment.
Pakistan’s federal minister for law, justice and human rights, Azam Nazeer Tarar, assumed the chairmanship of the 9th OIC Ministerial Conference on Women, reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to promoting the socio-economic and political empowerment of women across the Muslim world through collective action and cooperation.
Addressing the conference, Tarar described women’s empowerment as “not only a social imperative but also an economic necessity, a governance priority and a cornerstone of sustainable development.”
Women’s Development Organization Executive Director Sarah Al-Shoura highlighted the organization’s efforts to strengthen cooperation among member states and promote policies aimed at expanding women’s participation in education, economic development, and leadership.
A notable development at the conference was the participation of a Syrian delegation led by Syria’s minister of social affairs and labour, Hind Kabawat, which marked the country’s return to the OIC Ministerial Conference on Women after years of isolation and a prolonged absence. She described the participation as an important step in strengthening Syria’s international engagement.
The Syrian Arab News Agency quoted Kabawat as saying that Syria’s presence presents a key opportunity for increased cooperation and the exchange of expertise with representatives from the participating countries.
The conference took place as women’s rights remain a major concern in several Muslim-majority countries.
Since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, women and girls in Afghanistan have faced sweeping restrictions, including bans on secondary and higher education, limitations on employment with most organizations, and travel restrictions requiring a male guardian.
Although Afghanistan was invited to attend the conference, no official delegation from the Taliban-led government participated. However, a few Afghan women living in exile attended in their individual capacities.
When contacted by The Media Line for comment on Afghanistan’s decision not to participate and on women’s rights in the country, Taliban chief spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid did not directly answer the questions posed to him.
Instead, Mujahid said, “Islam has made it obligatory to ensure women’s rights, including inheritance, marriage, protection from forced marriage, and dignity and honor in society.”
He claimed that Afghan women had long been deprived of those rights and maintained that since returning to power, the Islamic Emirate had restored them. According to Mujahid, the Islamic Emirate remained committed to safeguarding all rights prescribed for Muslim women under Islamic Sharia.
Pakistan kept the plight of Afghan women high on the agenda, with senior officials repeatedly highlighting restrictions on their rights, education and socio-economic participation. Pakistan’s minister of state for law and justice, Aqeel Malik, described the situation facing women and girls in Afghanistan as “an alarming” test of the Muslim world’s collective conscience.
You really need to see the plight of those girls in Afghanistan because they are banned from attending schools and classes. This is an alarming situation.
“You really need to see the plight of those girls in Afghanistan because they are banned from attending schools and classes. This is an alarming situation,” Malik said in an interview with Saudi-based Arab News.
He argued that the OIC should use its collective diplomatic influence to press for change.
Tahmina Safi, a former judge of the Afghan Supreme Court, told The Media Line that Islam grants women and men equal fundamental rights, including dignity, education, property, inheritance, financial autonomy, and consent to marriage, employment, and public participation.
According to Safi, although the ruling Afghan Taliban maintain that their policies are based on Sharia, many leading Muslim scholars believe the group’s treatment of women contradicts the teachings of Islam and established principles of Islamic jurisprudence.
She argued that the Taliban’s record of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions, and systematic repression, as documented by the United Nations, cannot be reconciled with Islamic principles.
Unfortunately, the Taliban has no female officials capable of representing the rights, interests, and perspectives of Afghan women
“Unfortunately,” she said, “the Taliban have no female officials capable of representing the rights, interests, and perspectives of Afghan women who believe in the equal rights granted to them by Islam at conferences dedicated to women’s rights in Islam.”
She said that OIC member states, including Pakistan, do not recognize the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan. “Inviting them to participate in such meetings indirectly signals the OIC’s support for the Taliban,” Safi added.
Safi suggested that the OIC should instead engage directly with Afghan women scholars, judges, diplomats, and civil society leaders living in exile. She said a willing OIC member state, including Pakistan, could facilitate such an office (the establishment of a legitimate Afghan representative office in exile) while supporting an Afghan-led, inclusive, and legitimate political process rather than conferring legitimacy on an unrecognized authority.
Nazifa Jalali, a Norway-based Afghan Muslim scholar and director of Dialogue Hub for Common Ground, told The Media Line that “it is essential to distinguish between Islam and the policies of the Taliban.” She said that throughout Islamic history, women had played important roles as scholars, educators, business leaders, and contributors to public life.
Jalali argued that, in stark contrast, women and girls under Taliban rule had been systematically denied education, employment, public participation, freedom of movement, and other fundamental rights.
She noted that UN experts, the European Union and global human rights advocates had described the situation as gender apartheid, reflecting systematic and institutionalized discrimination against women and girls.
Jalali said that women peacefully demanding their rights had faced arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, torture, intimidation, and violent repression. She added that documented cases also showed Taliban forces using lethal force against protesters and civilians.
She emphasized that OIC member states, prominent Islamic scholars, and religious institutions had repeatedly called on the Taliban to restore girls’ education, women’s right to work, and their full participation in society, saying that this demonstrated that the Taliban’s interpretation was neither universally accepted nor representative of Islam.
From Jalali’s perspective, the international community, including the OIC, had a moral and political responsibility to continue supporting Afghan women, adding that protecting their rights was consistent with Islam’s values of justice, human dignity and knowledge.
Dure Shawar, a leading Lahore-based female entrepreneur and participant at the OIC summit, described the conference in Islamabad as an important opportunity to strengthen cooperation on women’s empowerment across the Muslim world.
She argued that economic empowerment was the foundation of meaningful inclusion, saying women with greater access to education, vocational training, finance and business opportunities were better equipped to contribute to economic growth and social development.
Shawar maintained that the adoption of the Islamabad Declaration should be viewed as the beginning of a long-term process rather than an end in itself, emphasizing that its success would ultimately depend on whether member states translated their commitments into practical reforms that removed barriers facing women entrepreneurs, professionals and future leaders.
According to Shawar, stronger collaboration among OIC countries could open new avenues for women-led businesses through investment partnerships, regional trade and knowledge sharing.
She added that sustained political commitment could transform the conference into a significant milestone for advancing women’s empowerment and inclusive development across the Muslim world.
