ABSTRACT
Islamic leaders introduced important changes into gender relations in the Middle East—for example, in confirming women’s property rights. But they also built in legal inequalities and, additionally, began to pick up other regional customs such as veiling that had their own impact on gender. After dealing with the basic gender features of early Islam, the chapter shows the results—over time—of Islamic influence in India and in parts of sub-Saharan Africa. In India, Islam affected Hindu patterns, particularly in the upper classes; Africa, with somewhat looser traditions of patriarchy, did not always embrace the gender styles of the neighboring Middle East, though here too there was greater confluence over time.
