The book questions the thesis that democratizations in the Islamic world inherently lead to gender equality and demonstrates which political, religious, and cultural factors become significant in the transformations of gender orders. It compares the Arab states where the Arab Spring was successful (Egypt, Tunisia) with others where the power dynamics were not or only minimally changed (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Syria, Yemen, Jordan). The study also includes countries where foreign interventions initiated a regime change (Iraq, Afghanistan), where a revolution occurred more than a decade ago (Indonesia), where it was unsuccessful (Iran), or where it did not take place at all because the regime was already democratically structured (India).