Do Islamist parties help or hinder women? Party institutionalization, piety and responsiveness to female citizens

Abstract

Does electing Islamist parties help or hurt women?Due to Ennahda winning a plurality in the 2011 elections and women from all parties winning 31% of seats, Tunisia offers an opportunity to test the impact of legislator gender and Islamist orientation on women's representation. Using original 2012 surveys of 40 Tunisian parliamentarians (MPs) and 1200 citizens, we find that electing female and Islamists MPs improves women's symbolic and service respon-