ABSTRACT. This paper seeks to fill a gap in the current literature by examining women’s rights in the Arab world, ways of eradicating legal discrimination against women and assisting women in claiming their existing rights, and gender asymmetry and the status of women in the Muslim world. Ottaway explains that women become an effective voice in legislatures when they are present in sufficient numbers to constitute a substantial bloc. In Caiazza’s view, societies that condone and promote violence against women tend to be violent in other ways as well. Moghadam emphasizes that the prescribed role of women in Islamic theology and law is a major determinant of women’s status. (pp. 152–157)