Summary
"This report represents the second publication in ISD’s Women and Extremism (WaE) programme, launched in January 2015 to fill a large blind spot in the evolution of the global extremist threat. This report also builds upon ICSR’s research into the foreign fighter phenomenon. Questions are now being posed as to how and why females are being recruited, what role they play within violent extremist organizations, and what tools will best work to counter this new threat. Yet very little work has been done to not only answer these questions but to build sustainable preventative measures. WaE serves to pioneer new research, develop global networks, seed local initiatives, and influence social media, in-line with work already being piloted by the ISD."--Page [1].
Contents
1. Introduction – 2. Push and Pull Factors – 2.1. Push Factors – 2.2. Pull Factors – 2.3. Female-specific ISIS Propaganda: Warped Feminism – 3. Profiles of Western Female Migrants to ISIS – 3.1. Salma and Zahra Halane: The ‘Terror Twins -- 3.2. Tara Nettleton, Zaynab Sharrouf and Zehra Duman: The Australians – 3.3. ‘Shams’: The Doctor – 3.4. Amira Abase: The Bethnal Green Girl – 3.5. Life in ISIS territory—the reality – 4. Prevention and De-Radicalisation – 4.1. How can we actually ‘Prevent’ radicalization? – 4.2. Radicalisation – 4.3. Recommendations – 5. Conclusions and Recommendations.