For women living in the Muslim regions of South Asia, the last three decades of the twentieth century proved to be a period of rapid change that significantly altered women's claim to, use of, and formation of the urban built environment.

Changes in political representation, enforcement of legal rights, and educational and employment opportunities have impacted the various nations and social groups of the region in different ways. In general though, women today – whether slum dwellers, members of the emerging middle class, or part of society's el…