Women in Muslim Politics

Mona Eltahawy wrote a column about how women can have political rights in Islam. Her main examples are contemporary societies such as Pakistan and Indonesia, but even in the early days of Islam it is crystal clear that women had a voice. The career of Aisha, a wife of Muhammad whose leadership in the wake of the assassination of Uthman was accepted by companions of the Prophet and led directly to the Battle of the Camel is the most famous example. If people that close to the source of Islam could handle politically active women, what gives modern fundamentalists the right to say otherwise based on later innovations?