The Independent Permanent Human Right Commission (IPHRC) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Saturday called on the OIC member states to speed up the ratification of the statute of OIC Women Development Organization (WDO). Marking the International Women's Day, the IPHRC issued a press release saying it joins advocates of rights of women and girls all over the world in celebrating the achievements of women in all facets of life. It affirmed that it is "fully cognizant of the fact that immense work still lies ahead in the effort to improve the socio-economic condition of women around the globe; these challenges range from violence to various forms of discrimination. "Women continue to be discriminated in areas such as access to education, employment, resources as well as participation in political and policy decision making processes at national and international levels. Being one of the vulnerable groups, women under conflict/foreign occupation; with disability and those who live in extreme poverty also face multiple forms of discrimination. "While equal access to education and employment and participation in decision making processes is fundamental to ensuring women empowerment and gender equality, the process must begin with addressing de-facto and de-jure discrimination in policy and practice at all levels including through training of concerned officials, and awareness raising of general public," according to the statement. "Women must be able to shape the future of their countries by being involved in all reform processes from the beginning. Their full participation is essential not only for their empowerment, but for the advancement of society as a whole. "IPHRC recalls that Islam forbids discrimination on any grounds including race, religion or sex. In recognition of the rights granted to women by Islam, OIC Member States adopted the OIC Plan of Action for the Advancement of Women (OPAAW) that calls upon Member States to take specific actions to ensure their effective participation in the economic, social, political and cultural aspects of the society," it pointed out. "IPHRC has set women's rights as one of its top priority issues since its first session in Jakarta in 2011. The Commission has also established a special Working Group on women and child rights to undertake studies and research on the situation of women in the OIC Member States and to provide technical cooperation and awareness-raising toward the enhancement and the betterment of their lives. "The Working Group is currently carrying out a study on legislation and policies pertaining to rights of women in Member States with a view to presenting best practices on eliminating discrimination and violence against women and girls, which hamper full enjoyment of their human rights. "On this important day, IPHRC calls upon all Member States to ratify the statute of OIC Women Development Organization (WDO), on priority. This will enable the WDO to start its valuable work i.e. helping Member States in effective implementation of the OPAAW," the statement went on. "The Commission supports all women who are contributing and working for positive changes in their families, communities and societies. IPHRC also looks forward to working and collaborating with other international, regional and national institutions to promote the laudable goal of women empowerment and gender equality," it concluded.