Constitutional islamization and gender equality : panel data investigation in education, employment, and business rights

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

In recent decades, Islamic constitutionalism has expanded significantly alongside the resurgence of Islamist political powers, resulting in substantial legal and societal consequences. This study investigates the relationship between constitutional Islamization and gender equality within the Organization of Islamic Cooperation （OIC） countries, focusing on education, employment, and business rights.
Although a limited number of quantitative studies have addressed this topic, much of the existing research is outdated and primarily relies on cross-sectional analysis due to data constraints. To address this gap, this study utilizes a panel analysis with a novel dataset by Gouda （2026）, which substantially extends the historical coverage of the Islamic Constitutions Index （ICI）. Fixed effects and random effects models are estimated as appropriate, with a number of diagnostic tests and robustness checks employed to ensure model validity.
Our findings reveal a domain-specific relationship between Islamic institutions and various dimensions of gender equality. After controlling for economic and political factors, no significant association is found between past ICI scores and gender parity in education. Whereas prior studies have identified a restrictive effect of Islamic institutions on women’s absolute educational outcomes, our findings indicate that such effects are not observed when examining the female-to-male ratios in enrolment and attainment. This pattern is consistent across all levels of education and applies to both general and vocational education within OIC countries, when considered.
In contrast, greater constitutional Islamization is positively and significantly associated with women’s employment in OIC countries, with an additional positive effect observed under higher levels of constitutional compliance. However, increased Islamization is also linked to greater sectoral segregation among women, favouring traditional agricultural employment over other sectors. It further contributes to a reduction in the positive impact of constitutional compliance on women’s participation in industrial employment.
Furthermore, Islamic constitutional provisions are associated with restrictions on women’s business rights, both overall and across different stages of their life cycle. Beyond the composite index, the evidence indicates that Islamic legal clauses are significantly correlated with a broad deterioration in all studied rights, with the exception of those related to mobility. These effects are robust across most domains of economic rights in both the short and long term, underscoring the need for policy reforms within Muslim contexts.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• I. Introduction 1
• II. Literature review 5
• II.1. Gender equality in three dimensions 5
• II.2. Gender equality in Islam 26
• II.2.1. Gender equality in the Islamic doctrine 26
• II.2.2. Gender equality in Islamic law 33
• II.3. Empirical literature: gender equality in Islamic constitutions 40
• III. Descriptive statistics and methodology 47
• III.1. Data selection and definition 47
• III.1.1. Dependent variables 47
• III.1.2. Independent variable 50
• III.1.3. Control variables 54
• III.2. Time and regional trends 62
• III.3. Basic descriptive statistics 79
• III.4. Sample-specific descriptive statistics 102
• III.5. Bivariate correlation 103
• III.6. Methodology 105
• IV. Constitutional Islamization and women’s education 114
• IV.1. Empirical model 114
• IV.2. Results 117
• IV.3. Robustness checks 138
• IV.4. Alternative estimators 151
• IV.5. Discussion 152
• V. Constitutional Islamization and women’s employment 154
• V.1. Empirical model 154
• V.2. Results 157
• V.3. Robustness checks 175
• V.4. Alternative estimators 190
• V.5. Discussion 191
• VI. Constitutional Islamization and women’s business rights 194
• VI.1. Empirical model 194
• VI.2. Results 197
• VI.3. Robustness checks 223
• VI.4. Alternative estimators 235
• VI.5. Discussion 237
• VII. Conclusion 239
• VII.1. Theoretical and practical implications 239
• VII.2. Methodological implications 245
• VII.3. Study limitations and future research prospects 246
• Notes 249
• Bibliography 254