PESHAWAR, Oct 6: The International Muslim Women Union secretary-general and wife of the Iranian parliament speaker, Fatemeh Karoubi, has said that women in all the Islamic countries are facing identical problems.

Speaking at a dinner hosted in her honour on Saturday by the Peshawar-based Consulate General of Iran, she said that the increase in women seats in Pakistan’s parliament was a good omen and encouraging.

“I met several woman MPs in Islamabad and held discussions with them and they were satisfied,” said Ms Karoubi.

She said that those elected by the voters were apparently more powerful than those who reached the parliament on reserved seats.

However, she said that there was also similar system in place in Iran where some women were elected by the people directly and some on reserved seats.

According to her, the womenfolk in the Muslims countries were not being given the due rights enshrined in Islam, but hoped that women were fast inching toward development that could ultimately empower them.

“Men and women enjoy equal status in Islam. Their duties and rights are the same,” she said and urged the women in Muslim countries to play their role in development of their countries alongside their men.