Women and the Islamic State

Abstract

Women affiliated with ISIS in a voluntary role, often hailing from the West, are often presented either as passive accessories and victims or as deviant, gender-norm-defying monsters.1 In fact, women are an indispensable component of ISIS, taking up roles both as perpetrators of violence and as mothers and educators of the next generation of ISIS fighters. Through the creation of an original database, I examine the roles and experiences of ISIS-affiliated women before, during, and after their time in the organization. I make connections between individuals’ roles and experiences and highlight identifiable trends in the behavior of these women. These findings suggest that there are misunderstandings in current counterterrorism efforts and policies. The data and hypotheses presented in this study provide a foundation for future data collection efforts and for the construction of fuller accounts of the nature and determinants of the behavior of this important category of women.