Islamic State attracts women followers whose multilayered and situational roles are centered on providing support to their militant husbands. The enduring commitment of women to the cause of the Islamic State remains a critical concern because it dramatically impacts their lives. The perception of women in the movement differs as they are sometimes involved as active agents and as voiceless victims. One of the dynamic roles women engage in furthering the mission and agendas of the movement is by acting as propagandists and recruiters. Despite showing their ideological commitment to the movement through their adopted roles, women also face a myriad of challenges, such as gender stereotyping.
Women as Propagandists and Recruiters
The influence of women as propagandists and recruiters for the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq (ISIS) in the Middle East cannot be overlooked. The women use social networking platforms (online jihad) as the primary "tool" to lure and encourage people to join the Islamic State ( Mah-Rukh , 2015). These women flood sites such as Facebook and Twitter with pro-Islamic State propagandist messages that portray the movement as a legitimate state. Such messages are usually targeted to pro-ISIS sympathizers from the West. One such classic example of a well known pro-Isis propagandist was an American woman known as "ISIS Superstar." Using more than 100 fake Twitter accounts, "ISIS Superstar" posted several messages encouraging people to make Hijrah to ISIS (Inch, 2017). She managed to brainwash and radicalize several Western males to move to Syria and Iraq to become foreign fighters and contribute to the construction of the IS" s utopic version of a safe haven for Muslims.
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The emergence of feminist militarism in the Islam world has reinforced the position of women in ISIS as active participants in violent jihad. By sharing their experiences, women in ISIS have been successful in encouraging young males and females around the globe to show solidarity for their "brothers" and "sisters." The propagandist campaigns have garnered visibility and support from young males and females around the globe. Besides using social media networking platforms, women in ISIS are also using magazines like al-Khansaa to radicalize other women to involve in activities of jihad.
Challenges Faced By Women in the Islamic States
The crude diktas in ISIS are used as a tool to perpetuate gender stereotyping against women. Chatterjee (2016) argues that women in the terrorism group have turned into the flag-bearers of patriarchy under the veil of their subdued consciousness. Women do not have the freedom to assert free choice and action because the patriarchy remained an inherent form of the structural violence of ISIS. As a result, most women have become voiceless victims tormented under the ISIS diktas (Chatterjee, 2016). Some of the captured and recruited women are raped and enslaved to satisfy the sexual needs of the militants. The women are also utilized for the bearing and ideological upbringing of children who will act as future jihadists.
Even though such gender stereotyping results in the violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of women, the group view such treatment as ideologically justified through its strict interpretation of sharia's law (Vale, 2019). Such interpretations have resulted in the formation of a set of gendered norms that disproportionately regulate women in both the public and private spheres. IS' men are often depicted as lions because of their battlefield successes to defeat an inferior enemy. Women, on the other hand, are viewed as an ideal image of a symbol of purity, chastity, and modesty. The group has thus instituted a series of dress and behavioral codes that women are mandated to follow strictly. The stipulated dressing code includes the wearing of the sharii attire, long gloves, and a twin layered covering over the face. The group also dictated the tone of voice women use when talking to men; they are expected to lower their voice but not flirtatiously soft.
Women who violated the enforced modesty and behavioral codes risked being punished by the group's morality punishing brigades. The harsh punishment ranges from lashing for those found wearing inappropriate attire to death by stoning for women found guilty of adultery. Women are also strictly prohibited from being in the company of unrelated men, and public outings are restricted to only necessary instances. The overall goal is to ensure that women stay at their rightful place- in the home, engaging in domestic responsibilities (Spencer, 2016). The gender stereotyping in the group has resulted in a lot of suffering and cruelty, such as imprisonment, torture, and sexual abuse to women who dare to contradict the stipulated policies.
Avoiding the Challenge
The first step towards avoiding the challenge is for women to realize that their abilities and personality determine what they can achieve in society rather than their economic and cultural background. Instead of joining extremist groups like ISIS to practice and express their faith, Muslim women should come together and engage in peaceful activism against the multiple layers of discrimination and prejudice leveled against them based on religion, and appearance (Hong, 2015 ). Most women join patriarchal groups like ISIS because of the experiences of discrimination and harassment in their countries of origin (Soltani, 2016). For instance, Western feminism is 'emasculating' men and forcing, thus forcing women to earn a living through corrupt employment, hence leaving the safety of their domestic sphere. Through activism, women will be in a position to vigorously campaign for their rights to bring about political and social change in the countries and societies.
References
Chatterjee, D. (2016). Gendering ISIS and Mapping the Role of Women. Contemporary Review of the Middle East , 3 (2), 201–218. doi: 10.1177/2347798916638214
Hong Tschalaer, M. (2015). Muslim Women's Rights Activists' Visibility: Stretching the Gendered Boundaries of Public Space in the City of Lucknow. South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal , (11). https://doi.org/10.4000/samaj.3928
Inch, R. K. (2017). Jihad and hashtags: Women's roles in the Islamic State and pro-jihadist social networks.
Mah-Rukh, A. (2015). ISIS and propaganda: how ISIS exploits women. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism .
Soltani, A. (2016). Confronting Prejudice Against Muslim Women in the West. United Nations University. Retrieved 12, May 2020, from https://unu.edu/publications/articles/confronting-prejudice-against-muslim-women-in-the-west.html .
Spencer, A. N. (2016). The hidden face of terrorism: an analysis of the women in Islamic State. Journal of Strategic Security , 9 (3), 74-98. Retrieved May 12, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/26473339
Vale, G. (2019). Women in Islamic State: From Caliphate to Camps. Retrieved 12, May 2020, from https://icct.nl/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Women-in-Islamic-State-From-Caliphate-to-Camps.pdf
