What is the difference between the situation of Muslim women in the Islamic world and outside of it?
For the most part, Muslim women outside the Islamic world — especially in the West — are more economically advantaged than women within the Islamic world. Which means that Muslim women in the West have the privilege to make certain choices that many of our sisters elsewhere do not. For example, we can interpret the Quran for ourselves without fear of state retaliation. My point is reaffirmed by the United Nations Arab Human Development Reports. These reports were researched and written by Arabs, and they consistently emphasize that the Muslim Middle East suffers from three key deficits: knowledge, freedom, and women’s empowerment. I have argued that by addressing the deficit of women’s empowerment, we can also help the cause of knowledge and freedom. Interestingly, whenever I say this at a public university lecture in the West, a Muslim woman in the audience will stand up and insist that she is not oppressed. “Good for you,” I reply. “But do you ever think about the millions of Musli
