There is some very serious issues at stake here. The closest thing you can compare it to is the Catholic religion (and the best analogy I can think of, having been raised Catholic). Back in the day, you ate absolutely no meat on Fridays. It took until the Second Vatican Council in 1962 to decide that for nutritional reasons, they would allow it through the year, but limit it during Lent. Likewise, it took until this meeting to allow the local language to be used in Masses rather than Latin, which was the only language allowed until that time. The Catholic Church is very slow to change.
Now, let us get to Islam. The country of origin is Saudi Arabia. In Saudi, the Koran is not only the basis of a religion, but also the basis of their government. That said, everything they do, the social and gender order is based on its teachings. The rest of the Islamic world follows that example, but from a religious aspect. While there are some Muslims who have been westernized and allow their wife (or wives) certain freedoms, the majority of Muslims follow the teachings.
If you think a simple religion is hard to change with the times, imagine a country whose culture has religion worked into it. And have this country's core being be used as religion elsewhere in the world. They are the keepers of the Islamic faith and the two Holy Cities are within its borders (Mecca and Medina).
I've lived in Saudi Arabia (grew up there, 18mo-6yo and I returned as a teenager, 16yo-20yo) and I've seen how it is. Women have no rights outside of the home. They cannot drive, they cannot be seen (hence the Abaya covering their clothes and the veil covering their face), they cannot really interact with others unless they are shopping for the family. This is something that is never given a second thought by them. To us it is odd and backwards. To them, it is just following the law of the land. We can say how wrong it is or how archaic, but to them what we do and allow is very odd to them.
I think that given enough time, the conservatives of the country will make gender less of an issue. For now, not much will change.
In other countries, it may be quicker to change given that it is just a religion. This may also influence things back in Saudi, but who knows.