An international conference on 'Women and Islamic Awakening' started work here in Tehran on Tuesday morning.

The opening session of the two-day conference is due to be addressed by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The conference is attended by delegates from 80 Muslim states as well as representatives of Muslim minorities of non-Muslim countries.

A large number of renowned world figures are also present at the conference, including former Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jafari, Senior Advisor to the Iranian Supreme Leader for International Affairs Ali Akbar Velayati, and Head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq Ammar al-Hakim.

Earlier this year, Tehran hosted an International Conference on Islamic Awakening and Youths.

Over 1,200 young people from Iran as well as 73 other world countries took part in the two-day gathering. A number of Islamic world scholars and thinkers were also present at the meeting.

The young people present at the conference were those who had shown hectic activity in the recent developments in the Middle East and North Africa.

Yet, the first ever conference on the Islamic Awakening was held in September 2011 in Tehran with the participation of 700 scholars and thinkers from the Islamic world. The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, attended the meeting as well.

Since the start of 2011, the region has witnessed a growing wave of popular protests resulted from the people's growing awareness and vigilance.

Tunisia saw the overthrow of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in a popular revolution in January, which was soon followed by a revolution which toppled Hosni Mubarak in Egypt in February.

Libya was the third country touched by the Islamic Awakening. Libyans also embraced victory after months of bloody campaign against the country's dictator, Muammar al-Qaddafi.

Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Yemen have since been the scene of protests against their totalitarian rulers, who have resorted to brutal crackdown on demonstrations to silence their critics.

In Yemen, although the people have toppled the dictator and elected a president, the revolution still continues as allies and family members of the former dictator, Ali Abdullah Saleh, still hold key posts in the country and have not been brought to justice.

 

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