Property rights for women grow with education and employment: Expanding women’s access to education and employment in the Middle East are the key to advancing women’s rights and gender equality, Benjamin G. Bishin and Feryal M. Cherif write for the Washington Post. “Examining women’s property rights in 41 Muslim-majority countries, we find that women are likely to enjoy more secure property rights in countries where, first, women have greater access to education and second, where there are dense networks of women’s-rights activists.” Statistics show that women outperform their male peers in school and have a higher rate of university enrolment, and are not increasingly joining the labor force, suggesting that the region is on its way to significantly advancing women’s rights.

Religion is too simple of an explanation for gender inequality: Explanations that dismiss gender equality as nothing more than the application of religious teachings, particularly those of Islam, are “too simplistic” and fail to account for the incomplete application of religious rules. “Countries tend to discriminate against women by applying religious norms in inheritance rights — but for property rights where Islam enjoins equality, the practice is more mixed. This inconsistency suggests that religion-based explanations fall short.” The real issue, therefore, is not religion, but rather the patriarchal culture that nitpicks at the parts of religion that cater to the sustenance of this status quo.