Iranian female MPs: Men, women equal in Islam

Iran's female lawmakers highlighted the role and status of women in Islamic society, describing it as indisputably high and terming their rights and duties as equal to those of men.Addressing an international seminar dubbed "Emerging Women Leadership in the World", the event was organized by the Department of Politics and International Relation and Department of Software Engineering (Female Campus) at International Islamic University of Islamabad (IIUI). The guest speakers included Dr Tayyibeh Safaie, Dr Lailah Eftekhari and Dr Iran Rokanbandi. The speakers said that women have the power to create, nurture and transform societies and their role cannot be ignored. They said that one of the most important aspects in the Arab Spring, which has attracted the attention of the world, is the presence of a large number of Muslim women wearing Hijab. "The unparalleled resistance and meaningful presence of Muslim women is to be considered one of the underlying causes of the continuation of the Arab Spring," said a speaker. "It is worth emphasizing that the revival of the status of women and their role in Muslim societies is promising and shall bring about progress," she added. The speakers agreed that the essential solution for Muslim women today is their purposeful presence in different political and sociocultural areas. IIUI Female Campus Director Prof Qaiserah M Alvi, said that 1,400 years ago, Muslim women were given roles, duties and rights that are being practiced by different societies today. IIUI Department of Politics & International Relations Chairperson Dr Noor Fatima and a number of other faculty members and students were present at the seminar.