So I've heard that by some estimates as many as 80% of converts to Islam in Western countries are women. Struck me as pretty surprising, you'd think women would be rather adverse to Islam for obvious reasons.
Well, I think the whole "Islam oppresses women" thing has more to do with Middle Eastern culture rather than what Islam actually teaches about women. Same thing with the Bible, and this problem is also present even with Hinduism. Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam all have texts praising women and holding them in high esteem, almost equal to or even superior to men in some cases, but the culture that is currently present in places like the Middle East and India are pretty mysogynistic.
You can even cite/cherry-pick the Bible (or really any major religion) to justify biblical patriarchy, but in secular nations in the West, women are far less oppressed than in other countries (not that it's perfect).
So, in addition to the intermarriage thing mentioned many times above, an academic study of Islam can lead women to find that Islam is egalitarian with women, but it's just a patriarchal culture present in the Middle East and the Islamophobic fearmongering that gives people the idea that Islam is a mysogynistic/patriarchal religion.
