A delegation from WDO, headed by Her Excellency Dr. Afnan Alshuaiby the Executive Director of the organization, participated in the Women in Islam session that took place in March 2023, during the sixty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 67) in the UN Headquarters in New York.
The session was organized by the Permanent Mission of Pakistan in the United Nations, headed by His Excellency Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Pakistan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The Executive Director addressed the attendees in a speech where she stated that “It is of the utmost importance to ensure women’s education so that they, first and foremost, understand their own rights and privileges as Muslim women, and can use that knowledge to strengthen their voices when fighting for their rights and empowerment.”
“Women are no longer helpless, we have been lifted, we have been given a seat at the table, we have been included in almost every conversation. But meeting quotas is not enough. There is an imperative need to strengthen the political will and economic, institutional, and financial support to enable Muslim women across the world to achieve their rights and emerge as agents of progress through leadership, inclusion, and participation,” added Dr. Afnan Alshuaiby during her speech.
During the session, Dr. Alshuaiby met Her Excellency Indonesia's Minister for Women Empowerment and Child Protection, I Gusti Ayu Bintang Darmawati, where they discussed their interest to work with Indonesia on Women empowering projects. Dr. Alshuaiby also had a conversation with Her Excellency UAE’s Minister of State Noura Al Kaabi where they discussed issues of common interest.
Moreover, the WDO created a short documentary that highlighted the most notable and influential women in Islamic history that was screened during the session.
