A welcoming message was delivered on behalf of the President of Azerbaijan H.E. Ilham Aliyev at the opening session on 20 October 2014. Then, Prof. Hijran Huseynova, Chairperson of the State Committee for family, Women and Children Affairs delivered the opening statement to the Conference in which she said that the main objective of the Conference is to strengthen the cooperation between the Member States of the OIC and to increase the active participation of women in the development of the society. She spoke of Azerbaijan’s achievements at promoting gender equality in employment, health, education, economic and social policy, as well as at addressing violence against women such as special funds for activities ensuring gender equality; a state program on poverty reduction and sustainable development which fully incorporates the gender component; and a law on the prevention of domestic violence; in addition to the increase in the participation of women in political life....

The two-day OIC Conference addressed issues of women’s empowerment; eradication of poverty; raising women’s participation in decision making mechanisms; providing equal opportunities for women in society including access to quality education, health care and enhanced participation; and the elimination of all forms of discrimination including combating violence against women. 

The Ministerial Conference on Women’s Role in Development has been organized in every two years. The first was held in Turkey in 2006, which laid the groundwork for the vision and objectives of the OIC regarding women’s empowerment, which in turn was materialized in the form of an OIC Plan of Action for the Advancement of Women (OPAAW) adopted in the second conference held in Egypt in 2008. The third conference (Iran, 2010) set the mechanisms for implementing the OPAAW, and the fourth (Indonesia, 2012) further expanded on the strategy for implementation. 

Tri An