 Women in many Muslim countries continue to be marginalized and discriminated against, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told a conference of the Non-Aligned Movement yesterday.
| Picked right up on that, didn't he? There isn't much that gets by him... |
Abdullah, who is current chairman of both NAM and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), said some people used religion to oppose the empowerment of women for their own narrow purposes. "Despite the fact that women in many parts of the world have become more emancipated, women in many Muslim countries continue to be marginalized and discriminated against," he said. "I find it most lamentable, that although women are certainly no minority in terms of numbers, they cannot be said to have gained the status that they are entitled to, in terms of rights, equality and justice," he added.
| I'm sure it's our fault, somehow... |
Abdullah was speaking at the opening of a NAM ministerial meeting on "Empowering Women in Facing the Challenges of Globalization". While globalization had brought benefits, it had led to the further impoverishment of millions of already poor people, in particular women, he said. Greater internationalization had provided women with employment opportunities but the majority of them suffered from increased poverty because they lacked education and skills. |