The OICOA Sub-Committee on Women's Rights is a dedicated body within the OIC Ombudsman Association, (OICOA) created to harmonize legal frameworks, strengthen grievance mechanisms, and advance gender justice across member states. Convened and chaired by Her Excellency Ms. Fauzia Viqar, the Federal Ombudsperson for Protection Against Harassment (FOSPAH), Pakistan, the virtual assembly serves as a high-level diplomatic and legal forum to evaluate, consolidate, and bolster protections for women in the workplace and secure their foundational socio-economic rights.

The international session witnessed participation from the heads of ombudsman institutions and distinguished delegates representing an expansive coalition of member states, including Iran, Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Togolese Republic, Bahrain, Benin alongside representatives from the Ombudsman Offices of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Tanzania and Rwanda participated as observers. The meeting aimed to strengthen cooperation on women's rights and gender responsive governance across OIC member states.

Central to the proceedings was the formal presentation of a comprehensive, diagnostic compendium drafted by FOSPAH that provides a rigorous comparative analysis of existing statutory frameworks across OIC jurisdictions, systematically identifying legal lacunae while providing a blueprint for harmonizing institutional mechanisms against gender discrimination and for promotion of women’s access to rights.

Commending the initiative, OICOA Executive Secretary Mr. Almas Ali Jovindah noted that the Compendium is "far more than a static inventory of regional laws; it presents an empirical blueprint of how various states operationalize administrative justice." He highlighted innovative practices across member states, including technology enabled protection mechanisms, legislative reforms addressing gender based violence, political participation measures and expedited access to justice for women.

Addressing the meeting, H.E. Harerimana Fatou, High Commissioner of Rwanda, underscored Rwanda's commitment to gender equality, stating that "from the village to the center, the State of Rwanda has generated gender responsive budgets." She further emphasized the importance of addressing barriers to girls' education and strengthening collaboration among OICOA member states to advance educational opportunities for women and girls.

During the deliberation, participants engaged in an exhaustive exchange of regional laws and policies, administrative best practices, and collaborative methodologies aimed at enhancing systemic accountability. In her address, the Chairperson Honourable Ombdusperson H.E. Fauzia Viqar brought focus to three critical areas: analyzing complaint trends; evaluating redress mechanisms and; identifying key legal and policy gaps. She reiterated the need to ensure that the Ombudsmen institutional responses should remain fast, fair, and accessible to women and to pinpoint precisely where current policies fail to protect women.

She reiterated Pakistan’s steadfast commitment to leveraging its regulatory expertise via the OICOA Sub Committee platform to spearhead advocacy for continuous structural reforms and safeguard the dignity and economic self-determination of women globally.