Whither gender equality?

OUT of the 25 countries at the bottom of the 2018 World Economic Forum Gender gap survey, 21 are Muslim-majority countries, with Chad, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan and Yemen at the bottom five.

The survey which measures the relative gaps between women and men in 149 countries, across indicators on health, education, economy and politics, ranked Malaysia at 101, just below the global average. Our country has achieved gender parity in educational attainment, but ranks 84 for economic participation and opportunity, 83 for health and survival, and near bottom 131 for political empowerment.