The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) 9th Ministerial Conference on Women, hosted by Pakistan, began in Islamabad on Sunday with technical-level meetings.

The two-day conference, with the theme “Socio-Economic and Political Empowerment of Women in the OIC Countries: Challenges and Way Forward”, is being organised by the human rights ministry at the Jinnah Convention Centre.

According to state media, the conference has brought together around 190 delegates, including ministers, senior government officials and representatives from the OIC’s 57 member states, to discuss ways to enhance women’s social, economic and political participation and strengthen cooperation among member countries.

It is focused on expanding women’s access to education, healthcare, employment, entrepreneurship, financial services, technology and digital opportunities.

On Sunday, different technical sessions were held during which agenda of the conference was approved and progress on the implementation of the OIC Plan of Action for the Advancement of Women was reviewed, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.

The chair of the 8th OIC Ministerial Conference briefed the participants on the progress made under the OIC framework since the previous conference to advance women’s empowerment.

Reports prepared by various institutions on women’s development were also presented during the sessions.

Technical experts and senior officials held preparatory discussions to finalise recommendations for consideration by ministers, who will meet on Monday.

On the sidelines of the conference, Law and Human Rights Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar held separate meetings with ministers and senior officials from Iran, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Syria, Somalia, and Yemen, as well as representatives of the Women Development Organization and the OIC Labour Centre.

Tarar will chair Monday’s conference on behalf of Pakistan, while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to inaugurate the ministerial session.

Ahead of Sunday’s session, Tarar addressed a press conference in Islamabad, where he said hosting the conference was an honour for Pakistan.

According to Radio Pakistan, he said Pakistan would “utilise this high-level forum to highlight the government’s initiatives aimed at women’s empowerment and building an inclusive society”.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja would also attend the conference, he said, adding that the moot would conclude with the adoption of an “Islamabad Declaration”, which outlined a common framework for advancing women’s empowerment and promoting inclusive and sustainable development across OIC member states.

He further announced that Pakistan would formally assume the chairmanship of the OIC Ministerial Conference on Women from Egypt for the next two years.

The Islamabad meeting builds on the outcomes of the previous ministerial conference held in Cairo in 2021 and is expected to provide fresh momentum for greater collaboration among OIC countries to expand opportunities for women and strengthen their role in social, economic and political development, the Radio Pakistan report said.

Pakistan ranked the lowest among 148 countries in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report 2025 — with 56.7 per cent gender parity — the highest since 2006.

The figure was a second consecutive drop from the economy’s best score of 57.7pc, achieved in 2023.

According to the International Labour Organ­isation (ILO), women in wage employment earn approximately 30 per cent lower monthly wages than their male counterparts in Pakistan.