"There is no denying that many Muslim communities across the world have a long way to go when it comes to women’s rights, minority rights and freedom of expression." I don't think that it is an issue of "Muslim communities" as it is an issue of regional communities affected more by culture than religion, or by both. Take Lebanon: the status of women among Christians in Lebanon is in no way ahead of those among Muslims or Druzes. So the issue is more about the culture. Of course, one is not assuming that Western culture is free of sexism, patriarchy, and misogyny.