Dhaka, Oct. 14 -- Women are often at the forefront of pro-democracy movements, but their leadership rarely translates into lasting influence over the negotiations, constitutions and institutions that follow political upheaval, speakers said at an international convening in the city on Tuesday.

The BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) of BRAC University and Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) organised the event, titled "Women, Power, and Political Orders in Muslim Society Contexts."

Scholars, activists, lawmakers, legal practitioners and policy experts from Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, Palestine and Syria shared experiences of how women shape, and are often sidelined from, political transitions, ...