Gender Equality in Muslim-Majority Countries

Discrimination has been documented against women in Muslim-majority countries. Constitutions differ among Muslim-majority countries. By using women’s rights indicators and exploiting cross-country variation, we find that discrimination against women is more pronounced in countries where Islam is the source of legislation. Constitutions changed in only four Muslim-majority countries since 1980. We discuss anecdotal evidence to what extent women’s rights changed as a consequence of new constitutions. Empirical studies should thus distinguish between types of Muslim-majority countries.