Home > Events/Training > Speakers Series: Islam, Gender, and Reproductive Health Speakers Series: Islam, Gender, and Reproductive Health—Part I July 2004, Washington, DC This was the first installment in a six-part speakers series on Islam, Gender, and Reproductive Health. The speakers series aims to provide an in-depth examination and discussion of: the intersections of reproductive health and gender issues in the Islamic world, addressing the range of interpretations of and religious adherences to Islam and the impact of such diverse views on reproductive health policy and programming; topics such as polygamy, young age at marriage, son preference, and honor killings; and factors that have played a role in the diverse nature of fertility rates in Islamic settings, such as fertility shifts during conflict and the relationship between pro-natalism and gender. The July 7 session featured Barbara Ibrahim (Regional Director for West Asia and North Africa, Population Council, Cairo) and Nazy Roudi (Project Director, Middle East/North Africa, Population Reference Bureau). The speakers provided an overview of general demographics in the region and the perspectives of Islam on family planning and contraceptive use, with attention to fertility patterns, issues of safe motherhood, reproductive health and culture, the end of reproduction and the menopause transition, HIV, and government policies concerning fertility levels and contraceptive use. Additionally, the speakers highlighted how reproductive health can be addressed programmatically in Islamic regions of the world. The speakers series is sponsored by The Middle East Program and Environmental Change and Security Project at The Woodrow Wilson International Center, in partnership with USAID's Office of Population and Reproductive Health and the Interagency Gender Working Group. For more information, contact Jillian Frumkin at mep@wwic.si.edu.