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But did you consider that her gender might HELP change perceptions? I doubt Martin Luther King would have been as influential as he was if he were white. But he became the most prominent face of Black America to many white people...and many of them found him (and by extension, black people) to be much less scary than they imagined.
Sometimes it takes strong figures who belong to precisely the groups who are most oppressed. Many Muslim nations have shown this is possible. For example, Pakistan has become decidedly more liberal toward women's rights since Benazir Bhutto was prime minister in the early 90s.
More than that, I think changing other countries perceptions of us should not involve us changing what we are. We are a country that puts women in a position of authority. Muslim countries have dealt with women in the past, they will have to in the future.