Women's personal and political identities are significant in defining their roles and eventual contribution to society in contemporary society both in the private and public spheres.

This research study focuses on the effect of Islam on women's personal and political identities.

This research aims to highlight the existing ideology relating to women's treatment in regards their identities and public roles, and hence to contribute to women's emancipation.

This study utilizes quantitative and qualitative methods in analysing women in eight Muslim-majority countries, namely, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Yemen, Cyprus and Kuwait, in the Middle East. For the quantitative data, statistical dataset was culled from Inter-university consortium for political and social research of the university of Michigan.

The overall results show that historical constructions of gender spheres are still palpable in the Islamic landscape. Woman's question is identified as a complex personal and social problem, and cannot be rejected as a valid search for gender sameness or equality. This study also shows the interpolation of Islam with other factors such as patriarchy, modernization, and state formations. Some Muslim scholars argue that Quran's fundamental mooring is geared towards equality between men and women, and women's enhanced status, and it is patriarchy that has confined women to the domestic sphere.

Gender is embedded within culture, and structures of power in families, communities, and states, which have gender in itself, as an organizing principle.

The author has not supplied his/her declaration of competing interest.