TEHRAN – preserving moral values enhances women’s personal growth and developments, Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, said in the opening session of an open-ended working group meeting on the OIC Plan of Action for the Advancement of Women (OPAAW).

In his speech to the meeting, which was held on 6 and 7 April 2008 at the OIC General Secretariat, Ihsanoglu said that Islam urged us to have the greatest respect for pious women and give them some moral support to make really good mothers and partners, which is of great importance to society’s development.
Expressing dissatisfaction with the conditions of women in the Islamic societies, whereby they have been victims of abuse, domestic violence, exploitation, and injustice, the secretary general said that women make up for almost half of the population of the Muslim Ummah, and therefore, it is our sacred duty to ensure their empowerment and rehabilitation in accordance with the teachings of Islam.
He further urged the representatives of the member states in this meeting to study further the draft OPAAW so that it may be presented to the next ministerial meeting in Egypt in November 2008 for adoption.
The OPAAW was formulated by the OIC Member States to pursue goals and strategies on women's affair advancement. The OPAAW was one of the major outcomes of the First Islamic Ministerial Conference on Women's Role in the Development of OIC Member convened in Istanbul in November 2006.
The meeting deliberated on various issues pertaining to women development in the Member States, an area which was addressed by the OIC Ten Year Program of Action (TYPOA) adopted by the Third Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference