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Women’s traditional roles in terrorist organizations
24-4-2019
The BBC website published an article on April 17 depicting the role of women in terrorist organizations, pointing to their active participation in supporting extremism, contrary to the image usually portrayed by the media as victims. Based on the results of a survey by the Royal United Services Institute, the article revealed that nearly 17% of the Jihadist recruits in Africa’s Al Shabab Islamist group are women. Another separate study has shown that 13% of foreign recruits in the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria are women, noting that rigorous figures may be higher. According to the Royal Institute’s study, women’s stereotypic roles differed with the different groups. While women in Al Shabab’s extremist organization carry out what is normally considered female traditional roles, as wives of fighters and domestic workers, or help in luring new members, ISIS women tend to take on the recruitment jobs, especially online, actively promoting the beliefs of the group. Besides, they serve as doctors and health care workers within certain restrictions, the report indicated, noting that ISIS boasts a complete female team in the moral police squads. The study also mentioned certain factors that drive women to recruit in such groups, like for example being thrilled by strong ideologies, financial profits and by a comeback of their traditional feminine role. In this respect, the above study showed that those responsible for recruiting in Al Shabab Movement play on the Muslim female’s insecurity concerning chances of marriage should they decide of following up their higher education. One female university student from Nairobi said in this regard: “If I find a man who will marry and protect me, why should I bother about education and learning.”. (Al Diyar, April 21, 2019)
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