KARACHI, Nov 29: A women's moot held in the Turkish city of Istanbul under the auspices of the Organisation of Islamic Conference has emphasised the need for fostering education, especially among women, to ensure their active role in the development of society.

This was stated by Sindh Minister for Women Development Dr Saeeda Malik while talking to reporters here on Wednesday on her return from Turkey.

The minister said that promotion of education would also help in the emancipation of women. She said the women in the Muslim world were very talented but needed educational opportunities and skill development to play their full role to the betterment of society.

Dr Saeeda Malik said that the two-day conference was inaugurated by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on November 20. There were more than 150 delegates representing all the 57 OIC member countries.

The secretary-general of the OIC, Prof Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, also attended the moot.Dr Malik, who represented Pakistan along with Balochistan Minister Parveen Magsi, said that owing to the contributions of President Pervez Musharraf, the OIC had now become active and that there was a need to vitalise it further.

She said that as far as the representation of women was concerned, a lot of work had been done in Pakistan at every level.

She said that she told the delegates that the women in Pakistan enjoyed representation on the local bodies as well as in the assemblies and other bodies, which was very much appreciated.

The minister pointed out that the topic of the moot was “Muslim women and their role in the development of the society.”

She said that the participants of the conference exhibited a great deal of enthusiasm and actively took part in the proceedings.

She said the moot provided a forum to come up with joint strategies for determining standards for the advancement of women.

Dr Malik said the three sessions pertained to strengthening the national policies and the laws for the advancement of the women as well as the access of women to education.—APP