The study found sexual harassment, high rates of female genital mutilation and a growth in conservative Islamist groups contributed to the low ranking.
The Comoros islands came top in the survey, which was conducted by the Thomson Reuters Foundation. The poll surveyed more than 330 gender experts in 21 Arab League states as well as Syria.
It is the foundation’s third annual study focusing on women’s rights since the Arab Uprisings in 2011.
‘Everyday harassment’
Iraq ranked second-worst after Egypt, followed by Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen.
The Comoros, where women hold 20% of ministerial positions, is followed at the top of the rankings by Oman, Kuwait, Jordan and Qatar. The poll asked experts to assess factors such as violence against women, reproductive rights, treatment of women within the family and women’s role in politics and the economy.
Discriminatory laws and a spike in trafficking contributed to Egypt’s place at the bottom of the ranking of 22 Arab states, the survey said.
“There are whole villages on the outskirts of Cairo and elsewhere where the bulk of economic activity is based on trafficking in women and forced marriages,” said Zahra Radwan of US-based rights group Global Fund for Women.
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