Islam is positive force for economic, social and political well-being of women, says Saudi envoy

NEW YORK CITY: The Saudi deputy permanent representative to the UN on Wednesday said that his country has enacted a number of reforms that ban all forms of discrimination against women, legislatively, professionally and in the family domain.

Mohammed Abdulaziz Alateek said that Islam is a great positive force for the economic, social and political well-being of women, and it is essential that countries develop their national legislation on the basis of that understanding.

The envoy was speaking during an event at the UN headquarters in New York titled “Women in Islam,” hosted by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to mark International Women’s Day.

In Saudi Arabia “a number of commitments and objectives have been proclaimed to empower women, and a number of special laws have been enacted, or older laws amended, to guarantee the equality of women and men,” Alateek said.

He called for enhanced international and regional cooperation in efforts to empower women, and pledged Riyadh’s commitment to achieving this.

A large number of officials from the Arab world and international organizations spoke at the event and many called for negative stereotypes of Islam, and Muslim women in particular, to be debunked, with some warning that extremism and Islamophobia are two sides of the same coin.

Alateek said the sacred texts of Islam show great respect for women and guarantee them equal rights.

“Whoever does good, whether male or female, and is a believer, we will most certainly make their life happy and give them the reward for the best of what they've done,” he said, quoting the Holy Qur’an directly.

Islam has for 1400 years been a pioneer in its calls for the rights of women to be respected and upheld, Alateek told