March 8-10, 2012 | Tunis, Tunisia

PGA, in collaboration with the Government of the Republic of Tunisia, held a Parliamentary Workshop on Advancing Maternal and Reproductive Health and Gender Equality in member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The workshop took place in the Golden Tulip Carthage Hotel in Tunis, Tunisia from March 8-10, 2012.  

The Parliamentary Workshop provided an opportunity for parliamentarians from member countries of the OIC to discuss and share best practices in legislation and implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Program of Action as vehicles to promote Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (Millennium Development Goal 3) and to improve Maternal and Reproductive Health (Millennium Development Goal 5).

The workshop equipped parliamentarians with the tools to: (1) discuss and debate in favor of the development of national legislation on gender equality, maternal and reproductive health and rights, and (2) draft new or revised legislation in this area and take measurable steps to improve implementation of existing legislation.

A concrete and time-bound Plan of Action was adopted by the participants at the conclusion of the workshop to ensure that momentum generated by this event is harnessed into actual follow-up initiatives/activities by the participants upon return to their respective parliaments and countries.