Dhaka: Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is set to travel to Saudi Arabia next month for the International Conference on Women in Islam, her office said on Wednesday, as the government hoped her presence would inspire more women to take up leadership roles.
The conference, hosted by the Kingdom in coordination with the general secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, will take place in Jeddah between Nov. 6 and 8.
According to the OIC, the event will aim to clarify “women’s rights and responsibilities in Islam, especially women’s right to education and work.”
Shakhawat Moon, deputy press secretary at the Bangladeshi Prime Minister’s Office, told Arab News that Hasina “has verbally agreed to join the Women in Islam Conference” and details about her trip to Saudi Arabia were expected to be finalized soon.
The participation of the PM, named on Time’s 100 most influential people list in 2018 and the daughter of the founding father and first president of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, is expected to be focused on women’s leadership.
“Historically, Muslim women have acquired excellence in different sectors, and it’s being continued at the present time also,” Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Abdul Momen told Arab News earlier this week.
Momen was also expected to join Hasina’s delegation to the conference together with State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Fazilatun Nessa Indira.
“Our prime minister is one of the best women leaders of the world at the moment. And she is a woman and a Muslim. She will be present there (at the conference), and it will encourage other women across the world to come forward to take up leadership roles. That’s why she will attend the event,” Momen said.
“The main focus of this visit will be on women’s leadership and issues concerning their prospects and problems.”
