State Committee for Family, Women and Children’s Problems organized an international conference “Woman in Islamic world: traditional values and modernism” within the framework of “Baku – Capital of Islamic Culture – 2009”, APA reports. The letter of president of Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva was read at the conference. Following this, chairperson of the state committee Hijran Huseynova said the aim of the conference is discuss the development of the international cooperation by using the practice of foreign countries in the field of women’s rights in Islamic world.

“Alongside with the achievements, there are a number of problems in ensuring women’s rights in the entire world, including Azerbaijan. Therefore, Islamic women need extend their relations and exchange experience,” he said. Huseynova mentioned that Azerbaijan gave voting right to women in 1918, earlier than some Western states and for the first time in the East. Woman policy is one of the priorities of the state in Azerbaijan,” she said.

Chairman of the State Committee for Religious Organizations Hidayat Orujov said the role of mothers and women is highly appreciated in Islam. “Islam recognizes all rights of women in economic sphere. Mother and father are equally responsible for children in Islam,” he said. According to Orujov, freedom of religion has been fully ensured in Azerbaijan and expedient policy is pursued to regulate state-religion relations.

South Caucasus Director of the UN Population Fund Peer Sieben said though Islam gives equal rights to women and men, women have property and political rights, in a number of countries these rights are restricted. “There are countries that do not recognize these laws. Our task is to raise awareness in such societies concerning the international conventions and Islam legislation,” he said.