The empowerment of women and girls is a critical aspect in the struggle against Islamist neo-medievalism. Islamism is intrinsically geared against gender equality in typically prescribing a highly constricted role for women and girls in society. Sunni Islamism is vehemently anti-LGBTQI while Twelver Shia Islamism is more tolerant towards transsexuals although otherwise viciously homophobic in Iran having executed thousands of homosexuals since the Islamist revolution of 1979. 15,9% of Americans born 1997-2002 identify as LGBT and the LGBTQI demographics is a population with immense potential to undermine the Islamist neo-medievalist agendas.
Governments of Islamdom that struggle against the neo-medievalist forces of Islamism and Jihadism need to pursue an agenda of comprehensive, yet of course incremental liberalization and this needs crucially include promoting a society-wide agenda of gender and sexual equality. This will crucially strategically serve to undermine the neo-medievalist agendas of the Islamists and the Jihadists.
The US government, the European Union and governments of free nations generally need to take a leading role in convincing allied governments in Islamdom on the strategic merits of promoting gender and sexual equality in the struggle against neo-medievalist Islamism/Jihadism.