Women, Gender and Violent Extremism: The Relevance of a Gender-Sensitive Approach in Responses to Female Supporters of Daesh

Abstract

This paper lays out the complexity of why and how women have supported ISIS. It identifies gendered specifics in women’s pathways towards the group and argues that prevent-, deradicalization- and rehabilitation programmes need to be gender-sensitive in order to adequately respond to these wide-ranging motivations, drivers and gender-specific catalysing factors. It explores women’s different roles in ISIS and points to challenges in law-enforcement and judicial responses to women in ISIS, arguing that a gender-sensitive, case-by-case approach is crucial in order to avoid (subconscious) gender-stereotyping of women and to ensure gendered factors including issues around agency and criminal liability as well as women’s experiences while in the Islamic State are taken into account.