Kuala Lumpur, (AB/IINA) : The “World Muslim Women: Soft as Silk, Strong as Iron” summit and exhibition” announced Dhul Hijjah 9 of each year as the “World Muslim Women’s Day”.

At the conclusion of its work in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur on Monday, the three-day summit issued its final communique consisting of 13 items that include an assertion on the need to increase the number of educated Muslim women, boosting their global role in different fields as well as paying attention to their opinions in the issues of fighting Islamophobia, extremism, gender discrimination and illiteracy.

The communique also included a resolution to establish an “International Network of Muslim Women’s Cooperation Work” that contributes to launch initiatives for peace processes, and another resolution to set Dhul Hijjah 9 of each year as “World Muslim Women’s Day.” In her speech at the closing ceremony of the summit, Malaysian Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Rohani Abdul Karim pointed out that the summit discussed the role of Muslim women in building world peace, and gave the audience an opportunity to discuss various problems they face. She commended the summit, arguing that “such meetings will promote unity and solidarity among Muslim women.”

For his part, Adviser to the Vice President of the Turkish Asian Center for Strategic Studies (TASAM) Tomay Arjan said the summit was “very useful”.

“We discussed, during the summit sessions, what we can do for Muslim women, and we had the opportunity to explain the achievements of Turkish women and the efforts to empower them,” he added.

Participants in the summit included representatives of TASAM, the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM), the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM), the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the World Islamic Forum, in addition to Malaysian Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Rohani Abdul Karim, Deputy Minister of Turkey’s Family and Social Policies Mehmet Ersoy, Turkish members of parliament and officials from a variety of civil society organizations.

The summit was organized by the International Islamic University of Malaysia, the Turkish Asian Center for Strategic Studies and other Turkey-based non-governmental organizations.