Muslim Statistics (Women)

This page contains statistics covering various women-related issues. For statistics specifically concerning honor violence or domestic abuse, see Honor Violence and Marriage. For child-marriages and the abuse of children, see Children.

Danger to Women

Worldwide

According to a 2011 survey conducted by TrustLaw, a legal news service run by the Thomson-Reuters Foundation, 3 of the 5 most dangerous countries for women (including the top-spot) are Muslim majorities, and in terms of cultural/tribal/religious danger to women, 4 of the 5 most dangerous countries are Muslim majorities.

Equality

Worldwide

World Gender Gap Worst in Islamic Nations

The 2009 report by the World Economic Forum has listed predominantly Islamic nations in the bottom of their annual Global Gender Gap (GGG) Index.....The only nation not predominantly Islamic in the bottom of the Global Gender Gap index was Benin.

In addition, the 2009 World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Index report does not include rankings on a number of significant and predominantly Islamic nations where women are oppressed. Somalia (population of nearly 10 million) was not included in the index. Endless numbers of reports of the stonings and Islamic supremacist abuses of women have been reported in Somalia in the past year, including the stoning to death of a 13 year old girl based on “Sharia law” in October 2008. Sudan (population of nearly 41 million) was also not included in the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Index. Among other nations, Afghanistan (29 million) and Iraq (29 million) are also not included in this Global Gender Gap Index. With the index not reporting on these 109 million, the desperate fate of an estimated 50 plus million women are not included in this Global Gender Gap index report.

Even with these significant exclusions from the Global Gender Gap index report, the bottom 10 index nations (excluding Benin), which are all predominantly Islamic nations, represent a population of over half a billion individuals.....If women represent half of the population in these nations, then these bottom 10 predominantly Islamic nations demonstrate the ongoing oppression of an estimated 250 million women.

In addition, if some other predominantly Islamic nations in the bottom of the Global Gender Gap index are also added to these totals, the global image of the correlated oppression of women further expands dramatically. (Again, this is without such nations as Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc., which were not included in the GGG index report analysis.)

If nine additional such nations in the GGG index are added, the total population impacted doubles from half a billion to over 1 billion.....If women represent half of the population in these nations, then these bottom ranked, predominantly Islamic nations demonstrate the ongoing oppression of an estimated 500 million women.

All of the predominantly Islamic nations referenced in these calculations are members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). The OIC rejects the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and has created its own version of a human rights document, “the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights” that stipulates that “All the rights and freedoms stipulated in this Declaration are subject to the Islamic Shari’a” and that “The Islamic Shari’a is the only source of reference for the explanation or clarification to any of the articles of this Declaration.” Human rights group Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) has protested U.S.-funded NGO’s working in “engagement” with the OIC without challenging this rejection of universal human rights. On October 26, 2009, the U.S. State Department’s 2009 Religious Freedom report was critical of the efforts of the OIC to undermine human freedoms.

October 2009

The Global Gender Gap report for 2011 found all five countries which scored lowest to be Muslim majorities.

Fight for rights: Worst places to be female

Yemen

Rated the worst of 135 countries for women by the World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Report 2011. With limited access to education, Yemeni women take only two per cent of skilled jobs. Around 14 per cent of girls are married before the age of 15, and some are forced to marry as young as eight, Human Rights Watch says.

Chad

Three times as many men are enrolled at university as women in the central African country, one of the poorest nations in the world. From 2005-11, Chad closed only 52 per cent of its gender pay gap – the lowest out of all countries surveyed.

Pakistan

Women have greater than average political empowerment in Pakistan (which came one place above the UK in the ratings), but health, education and economic participation are areas of inequality. The nation's labour force is made up of four times as many men as women.

Mali

Women are treated as second-class citizens in Mali, where more than half are married by the time they are 18 and 69 per cent of women aged 15 to 24 are illiterate, according to Unicef. Under the new Family Code law adopted this year, which had been heralded as a step forward, women's rights have been set back to the original 1962 Bill, which rules a woman must obey her husband.

May 2012

The Global Gender Gap report for 2012 found all ten countries which scored lowest to be countries where Muslims are the majority or Islam is the largest religion. Conversely, all ten countries which scored the highest are secular and/or devoutly Christian countries.

The Global Gender Gap report for 2013 shows that the 10 lowest scoring countries are all Muslim majority or Islam is the largest religion, and 14 of the 15 lowest scoring countries are all Muslims majority or Islam is the largest religion. Conversely, all 15 countries which scored the highest are secular and/or devoutly Christian countries.

Egypt

The post-Mubarak political reality for women also has deteriorated. They have lost political ground in the 16 months since Mubarak's ouster - even winning fewer seats in parliament in the first free and fair elections in decades. The 508-member parliament has only eight female legislators, a sharp drop from the more than 60 in the 2010 parliament thanks to a Mubarak-era quota. Women's rights groups also fear the growing power of Islamist groups will lead to new restrictions.

June 2012

Saudi Arabia

A poll in the Saudi Dar al-Hayat newspaper found that 41% of readers don't think women should work as cashiers, while a further 20% were in favour but only with additional "conditions".

(Text reads): Do you support women working as cashiers in stores?

Yes: 39%
No: 41%
With conditions: 20%
Number of votes: 2,104

March 2011

United Kingdom

A quarter of [Muslim] students said men and women were not equal in the eyes of Allah and seven per cent were not sure, with more women than men feeling unequal.
. . .
Nearly half of women and 36 per cent of men believe that the "free mixing" of sexes is not acceptable, while nine per cent of women and 17 per cent of men are unsure.

July 2008

Female Genital Mutilation

Australia

At least 50 women who have undergone painful and illegal female circumcision have been treated at two Sydney hospitals in the past year.

November 2006

Somalia

Somalia is a deeply traditional place, where 98 percent of girls are subject to genital cutting, according to United Nations figures.

December 2011

United Kingdom

In October 2007, FORWARD published 'A Statistical Study to Estimate the Prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation in England and Wales'.

The study revealed that over 20,000 girls could be at risk of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the UK.

Funded by the Department of Health and in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Department of Midwifery, City University, the study reveals that nearly 66,000 women with FGM are living in England and Wales (2001) and that there are nearly 16,000 girls under the age of 15 at high risk of WHO Type III FGM and over 5,000 at high risk of WHO Type I or Type II.

October 2007

Some 500 to 2,000 British schoolgirls will be genitally mutilated over the summer holidays. Some will be taken abroad, others will be "cut" or circumcised and sewn closed here in the UK by women already living here or who are flown in and brought to "cutting parties" for a few girls at a time in a cost-saving exercise.

July 2010

Prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation

From the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 2005

Country	Nation Prevalence % of FGM
Benin	17
Burkina Faso	77
Central African Republic	36
Chad	45
Côte d’Ivoire	45
Egypt	97
Eritrea	89
Ethiopia	80
Ghana	5
Guinea	99
Kenya	32
Mali	92
Mauritania	71
Niger	5
Nigeria	19
Sudan	90
Tanzania	18
Yemen	23

Gender Violence

Arab World

According to a study by the Foreign Nepali Workers Rescue Center (FNWRC), about 90 per cent of all Nepali migrant women are victims of sexual violence and exploitation. The worst cases are in Arab countries where female migrant workers are routinely raped, beaten and not paid. For this reason, the Nepali government limited emigration to the Middle East between 1998 and 2010.

Still, every year, 83,000 Nepal migrant women leave the country in search for work. Most go to the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, where job opportunities are better.

Arab states are destination of most illegal workers. Out of 67,000 in the Middle East in 2006, only 3,000 had the right papers and a valid contract.

September 2011

Afghanistan

According to figures in an Oxfam report in October, 87 percent of Afghan women report having experienced physical, sexual or psychological violence or forced marriage. The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission logged 1,026 cases of violence against women in the second quarter of 2011 compared with 2,700 cases for the whole of 2010.

January 2012

More than 60% of Afghan women surveyed reported experiencing multiple [a combination of physical, sexual or psychological] forms of violence.

September 2013

Bangladesh

As many as 449 women committed suicide facing different forms of repression last year, according to a report of a women's rights organisation published yesterday. Of them, 27 took their lives due to stalking.

Bangladesh Mahila Parishad made the annual report on women repression based on stories published in 14 national dailies last year, a press release said.

A total of 6,616 women fell victim to repression across the country last year, says the report. Of them, 1,014 women were victims of stalking, 96 were killed after rape and 38 died after being set on fire. Moreover, 81 women were acid burnt while two of them died following the attacks.

Over 800 women were raped, of whom 165 were gang raped, as per the report.

Two hundred and eighty seven women faced sexual harassment in 2011. About 181 women and teenage girls were abducted while 109 women and girl children fell victim to trafficking. Among the victims of trafficking, 45 were sold to brothels, the report says.

At least 330 women were killed for failing to give dowry while 55 teenage house helps died in different incidents of torture across the country. Also, 68 women were tortured in the name of fatwa (religious edict), and 75 fell victim to child marriage.

January 2012

France

A survey conducted in France in May 2003 found that 77 percent of girls wearing the hijab said they did so because of physical threats from Islamist groups. A series in the newspaper Liberation in 2003 documented how Muslim women and girls in France who refuse to wear the hijab are insulted, rejected and often physically threatened by Muslim males. Muslim women who try to rebel are considered "whores" and treated as outcasts.

February 2010

Germany

[According to annual report of the German police] The representatives of this ethnic group stood out as part of those involved in sex crimes in Germany - 34.9% of rapes and other similar crimes accounted for Turks only.

February 2012

Iraq

Sundus Abbas, who heads the Women’s Leadership Institute, a rights group with branches in seven Iraqi provinces, says the true figure for women who face sexual and domestic abuse is as high as 73 percent.

March 2012

Morocco

6 million women in Morocco are victims of violence, or around one in three.

October 2012

Norway

Oslo is the capital of Norway. In 2010, its non-Western immigrant population was made up of Pakistanis (21,195), Somalis (11,542), Sri Lankans (7,214), Vietnamese (5,573), Turks (5,987), Moroccans (5,848), and Iraqis (6,831). And in 2009, 11% of its population were Muslim.

Every single rape assault between 2005-2010, where the rapist could be identified, was commited by a non-Western foreigner.

Transcript of English translation

00:00:01:75 00:00:06:30 In Oslo all sexual assaults involving rape in the past year 00:00:06:30 00:00:10:45 has been committed by males of non-western background 00:00:10:45 00:00:13:78 this was the conclusion of a police report published today 00:00:13:78 00:00:16:55 This means that every single rape assault in the last five years, 00:00:16:55 00:00:22:11 where the rapist could be identified, he was a man of foreign origin, 00:00:22:79 00:00:27:27 The young girl we are about to meet was raped about two years ago 00:00:27:27 00:00:30:66 As she entered her apartment she was assaulted and endured 00:00:30:66 00:00:34:17 hours of the threats and violence and rape by a man unknown to her 00:00:34:17 00:00:36:54 She will be struggling with this experience for the rest of her life 00:00:37:29 00:00:41:31 I have found it difficult to go out shopping on my own because I felt anxious 00:00:41:31 00:00:45:94 I was simply too afraid to go out the door, And had problems contacting 00:00:45:94 00:00:51:89 and speaking to friends and family and simply live a normal life. 00:00:51:89 00:00:57:28 In april a few weeks ago, four women were assaulted and raped on the same night 00:00:57:28 00:00:59:45 None of the perpetrators has yet been found 00:00:59:95 00:01:02:54 Today Oslo police presented the total figures 00:01:02:54 00:01:06:44 revealing how in the past year, all sexual assaults involving rape 00:01:06:44 00:01:09:17 has been commited by men of non-western background. 00:01:09:17 00:01:11:43 It is troubling statistics 00:01:11:84 00:01:16:16 From 2005-2010 a total of 86 sexual assaults involving rape was reported 00:01:16:44 00:01:20:56 in 83 cases the man was described as having "non-western appearance" 00:01:20:83 00:01:24:65 these are all the cases in which the perpetrator could be identified by the victim 00:01:25:88 00:01:30:31 Many of the perpetrators who commit these rapes are on the edge of society 00:01:30:31 00:01:33:54 often unemployed, arriving from traumatized countries. 00:01:33:87 00:01:37:44 In the past five years it has often been asylum seekers 00:01:37:74 00:01:40:98 This girl was raped by a man of pakistani heritage 00:01:40:98 00:01:46:58 she is an ethnic norwegian as is almost all victims who are assaulted and then raped 00:01:46:80 00:01:51:43 "He said, that he had the right to do exactly as he wanted to a woman" 00:01:51:67 00:01:55:41 Why? "Because that is how it was in his religion" 00:01:55:41 00:02:00:51 "Women did not have rights or oppinions, he was in charge" 00:02:00:51 00:02:07:14 The way women are viewed is atleast one of the questions we have to ask 00:02:07:14 00:02:10:29 in order to understanding the motive of the perpetrators 00:02:10:59 00:02:13:97 It should not stand on its own, as a stigma, 00:02:13:97 00:02:16:55 but it is an element we must have the courage to adress.

Pakistan

The number of incidents of violence against women increased by 13 per cent in 2009, says a report by the Aurat Foundation set to be released on Wednesday. The report states that 8,548 incidents of violence against women were reported in 2009 compared to 7,571 incidents reported in 2008. Of these, 5,722 were reported to have occurred in Punjab, followed by 1,762 in Sindh, 655 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and 237 in Balochistan. Similarly, 172 cases of violence against women were reported in Islamabad, the report said.

2009

In Pakistan, it is reported that three out of four women in prison under its Hudud laws [these are the laws of what it forbidden and permitted by Allah himself], are rape victims. Because rape is equated with zina [unlawful sexual intercourse] under Hudud law, rape victims are required to produce four pious male witnesses. It is of course nearly impossible for the rape victims to produce the four male witnesses required to prove their allegation. Therefore their police report of rape was taken as a confession of illicit sex on their part and they were duly found guilty.

July 2011

Somalia

In the past two months, from Mogadishu alone, the United Nations says it has received more than 2,500 reports of gender-based violence, an unusually large number here.

December 2011

Turkey

According to a report by UN Women released in early July of last year, Turkey tops Europe and the US in the number of incidences of violence against women.

March 2012

Violence against women increased one-and-a-half times between 2008 and 2011, according to the sub-commission's report. In 2008, Turkey witnessed 48,000 incidents of gender-based violence; that figure jumped to 80,398 in 2011.

May 2012

The number of women [between the ages of 15 and 44] who die due to gender-based violence surpasses the number of women who lose their lives due to cancer, traffic accidents, wars and malaria, revealed a study by the Turkish Ministry of Family and Social Policy.

August 2012

Sexual Harassment

Egypt

A 2008 survey by the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights found that 83 percent of Egyptian women and 98 percent of foreign women living in Cairo said they had been harassed in some way -- and 62 percent of men admitted to harassing.

The Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights (ECWR) describes the problem as a social cancer and calls on the government to introduce legislation to curb it.

The findings contradict the widely held belief in Egypt that unveiled women are more likely to suffer harassment than veiled ones.

Participants in the survey were shown pictures of women wearing different kinds of dress - from the mini skirt to the niqab (full face veil) and asked which were more likely to be harassed.

More than 60% - including female respondents - suggested the scantily clad woman was most at risk. But in reality the study concluded the majority of the victims of harassment were modestly dressed women wearing Islamic headscarves.

ECWR head Nihad Abu El-Qoumsan said that even veiled women who were victims of harassment blamed themselves.

Western women who took part in the study demonstrated a strong belief in their entitlement to personal safety and freedom of movement, she says, but this was totally absent among Egyptian respondents.

No-one spoke about freedom of choice, freedom of movement or the right to legal protection. No-one showed any awareness that the harasser was a criminal, regardless of what clothes the victim was wearing.
. . .

The British foreign office says Egypt is one of the countries with the highest number of cases reported to embassy staff regarding sexual offences against visiting women.

According to studies conducted by the Egyptian Center for Women’s Right (ECWR) in 2008, 98 percent of foreign women and 83 percent of Egyptian women surveyed had experienced sexual harassment in Egypt. Meanwhile, 62 percent of Egyptian men confessed to harassing women and 53 percent of Egyptian men faulted women for “bringing it on.”

Now sexual harassment is no stranger to the experience of being a female in Egypt; in fact it became a fundamental element of being outdoors. Last week, the National Council for Women (NCW) said that Egyptian women get harassed 7 times every 200 meters, and a 2008 report by the Egyptian Center for Women Rights found that well over two-thirds of Egyptian women are harassed on daily basis. Even activists who protest the grotesque practice are also harassed, defying logic.

September 2012

Pakistan

The sexual harassment of women belonging to minorities by Muslims is pandemic:

Around 74 percent of Pakistani women from minority communities -- Christians and Hindus -- were sexually harassed, while 43 percent faced religious discrimination at workplaces in 2010 and 2011, a study said.

March 2012

Saudi Arabia

Up to 70% of files exchanged between Saudi teenagers' mobile phones contain pornography, according to a study in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom.

The study quoted in Arab News focussed on the phones of teenagers detained by religious police for harassing girls.

The same researcher also found that 88% of girls say they have been victims of harassment using Bluetooth technology.

April 2007

Depression & Suicide

Afghanistan

A recent research in Afghanistan shows that the number of women committing suicide in the country has been increasing.
. . .

The advisor of the president of Afghanistan in health matters estimates that each year 2300 Afghan women and girls, aged between 15 to 40 years who suffer from depression, commit suicide.

Mr. Kakkar said that on the basis of the above information the rate of suicide among women is 5 out of every 100,000.

July 2010

While speaking at a press conference in Kabul he [Faiz Mohammad Kakkar, the advisor of the president of Afghanistan in healthcare matters] said that presently the number of women with acute depression in Afghanistan is 28% (nearly 2 million people) of the population of the country.
. . .
In 2008 the Ministry of Public Health of Afghanistan had estimated that two-thirds of the Afghan population suffered from mental illnesses.

July 2010

Iraq

Officials are alarmed by what they describe as a worsening epidemic of suicides, particularly among young women tormented by being forced to marry too young, to someone they do not love.

While reliable statistics on anything are hard to come by in Iraq, officials say there have been as many as 50 suicides this year in this city of 350,000 — at least double the rate in the United States — compared with 80 all of last year. The most common methods among women are self-immolation and gunshots.

Among the many explanations given, like poverty and madness, one is offered most frequently: access to the Internet and to satellite television, which came after the start of the war. This has given young women glimpses of a better life, unencumbered by the traditions that have constricted women for centuries to a life of obedience and child-rearing, one devoid of romance.

June 2012

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