Abstract
Islamist women have become increasingly visible in politics in Egypt over the last decade. What can explain their increased political participation? This thesis examines women's participation in a case study of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. I do so by the use of qualitative interviews with Islamist women in Cairo as well as an extensive review of previous research. In doing so, the relationship between Islamism and the development of women's political rights is explored. The empirical evidence is considered in a democratization perspective and assessed by the use of three different theoretical approaches to democratization. This assessment suggests that the integrating, bottom-up means by which the Muslim Brotherhood has contested political power in Egypt has been the main cause of women's increased political participation in the movement.