The mirage of the jihad. Disenchantment as the pathway to disengagement of female jihadists. A case study about radicalization in Spanish prisons (El espejismo de la yihad. El desencanto como camino para la desvinculación de las mujeres yihadistas. Un estudio de caso sobre la radicalización en las cárceles españolas)

ABSTRACT

The interest for disentangling the pathways to violent radicalization is one of the main areas of attention nowadays. However, investigations including data from terrorists is marginal, particularly in the case of women. Here we offer an empirical contribution to this shortage. Twenty-five Muslims females incarcerated in Spanish prisons because of jihadist terrorism, or for crimes unrelated to terrorism, participated in a series of face-to-face interviews. Results revealed that female jihadists expressed less self-esteem, quest for significance, resilience, cohesion and religiosity than non-jihadists. Although no differences were found between the groups in fusion with religion or Muslims, female jihadists decreased their perception of fusion with religion and Muslims in the present as compared to the past and remain low in the future. Results indicate that female jihadists enter radicalization because of a crisis in their personal and social identities, but also seem to disengage from jihad because of a disenchantment for unfulfilled expectancies. Our findings call for consideration of the specific needs and characteristics of female jihadist inmates in the development of treatment programmes in prison.