The UN’s Reports on Gender Stereotypes in Muslim Countries—Differentiation of Economic Development

Abstract

This paper explores the differences in the content of commentary reports that the United Nations (UN) addressed to Islamic countries in the Stereotypes section. A significant association was found between types of violations and the level of the state’s economic development. For high-income level countries, the commentaries addressed social perceptions violations. For low-level income countries, the commentaries focused on physical practices violations. Hence, the Islamic character of the country was found to be a minor factor in comparison with the state level of development. The UN’s approach to gender stereotypes in low-income countries involves simplification and reduction, as it treats the symptoms rather than the causes.