Women in ISIS: A Distortion of Feminism

Photo taken from Buzzfeed

One of the most recognizable stigmas within the international community is the relationship between women and men in power in the Middle East as one of oppression. However, when we look closer, what we view as oppression may not actually be forced upon some women, and in some cases, self chosen. For many women in ISIS, the investment in jihad may actually be liberating and largely attributed to the woman’s identity; the oppression inflicted by ISIS may be the lesser of two evils in comparison to the alternative.  If a Sunni Muslim woman feels oppressed by the Shia Muslims in power, then in some ways, it makes sense that she may consider joining a group that opposes Sunni culture. Members of ISIS’s women’s brigade directly target young women who feel oppressed as Sunni Muslims in their recruitment.  In an attempt to analyze the identity politics at play in the relationship between ISIS leadership and its women followers, we need to consider the examples of the female brigade of ISIS and how women outside the brigade express themselves on social media.

Photo taken from Twitter

The male patriarchy in the Middle East is a concept that remains somewhat the same throughout time, while still varying in its degrees of stringency. If ISIS is successful in its overall mission, the strictest policies on gender separation will become law. That’s where the al-Khansaa women’s brigade of ISIS comes in. Considering strict religious rules regarding contact between men and women, the women of ISIS have been employed in keeping the women of conquered land in alignment with Sharia law. This brigade was established in Raqqa, Syria shortly after ISIS took control there in August of 2014. Essentially, they are a morality police force that patrols around looking for women who are not dressed or self conducted properly. Sometimes random women will be confronted by a member of the brigade in order to test them on their knowledge of Sharia law. They themselves conform to the strictest ways of dress, showing no parts of their bodies including their eyes. Not only that, but they are armed. A fully covered, black cloaked group of women armed with rifles can be a pretty intimidating sight. For the women themselves, it can be something extremely empowering. The al-Khansaa brigade can in fact be very aggressive when it comes to carrying out their mission. 

Not every woman that is fighting jihad with ISIS is a member of the al-Khansaa brigade. Many practice their loyalty by means of marrying ISIS fighters, promoting the jihad via social media or participating in the promotion or act of sexual comfort roles. Sites like Twitter and Tumblr have become a way for these female ISIS supporters to document their lives and experiences while recruiting women to join their cause. Some of these marriages have taken the " Islamic form of temporary marriage, mutt'a. Mutt'a marriage refers to an old Shia tradition that labels mutt'a marriage as the alternative to permanent marriage. The practice of mutt'a is derived from the issue of Shia soldiers wanting sexual/romantic comfort when they were far from their homes and families in a way that was still halal and would allow both parties to "work within the confines" of Shia law. The practice of mutt'a marriage has been a point of intense controversy between the Sunni and Shia communities. Understanding the purpose and derivation of mutt'a (or comfort) marriage is important in the process of identifying the hypocrisy of ISIS and effort to justify rape, torture, kidnapping, and human trafficking through the misinterpretation of Islamic scripture, tradition, and law... not to mention the fact that ISIS is a self-proclaimed Sunni group, justifying their violence through a twisted form of old Shia law. Aside from making sure that all women keep in line with Sharia law, the women in ISIS also provide the men with the opportunity to reproduce more future ISIS fighters. It has also been reported that women who are sympathetic to the struggles of ISIS are volunteering for jihad al-nikah, or sexual jihad, with ISIS fighters. “Females from Britain, Australia, and Malaysia are among the hundreds of comfort women in Syria and Iraq;” this highlights the international reach that ISIS has. 

Social Media for recruitment and promotional purposes

Although ISIS began as an exclusively male jihadist group, they now encourage and recruit women to promote and enforce Sharia Law. "We have established the brigade to raise awareness of our religion among women, and to punish women who do not abide by the law," Abu Ahmad, an ISIS official in Raqqa, told Syria Deeply’s Ahmad al-Bahri. Women were originally recruited to check women at checkpoints to verify the womanhood of each traveller. However, their role now extends to upholding Sharia law in the cases of women and children. They call themselves the al-Khansaa’ Brigade and are based in Raqqa. Zainab, a Syrian teenager, was arrested by the al-Khansaa' Brigade and describes her experience. "The brigade has created fear among the women and girls of Raqqa," Zainab says. "We've seen how they move, always watching women on the street, raiding schools, arresting students and locking them in for hours." Al-Khansaa’ patrols Raqqa and frequently arrests women under the strict mandates of Sharia law (being fully covered and being accompanied by a male chaperone). What started as a slight inclusion of women into the jihadi subculture has morphed into a female emancipation movement (although limited and oftentimes at the expense of other women). Women have a more active role now than they did in earlier jihadi history from spreading propaganda online to recruiting women to join them to upholding Sharia law.  Thousands of women not affiliated with ISIS have taken to social media (on sites like Twitter and Tumblr) to support ISIS and al-Khansaa.’ While still playing a miniscule role in the ISIS’ objectives, women are now increasing their involvement and changing the landscape of what it means to be a female in a jihadist state.

The armed women of ISIS

Many people around the world have been shocked by the realization that many women in ISIS joined the organization willingly. Firstly, it is known that ISIS initially excluded women from the organization, only allowing them to join after recognition that they would be needed to universally enforce Sharia law. Secondly, there is no doubt that ISIS operates under iron-clad patriarchal and paternalistic authority. Veryan Khan, a representative of TRAC, is quoted in a CNN article stating that “[although the women] have same goals and ambitions as the men once they get there… their roles may be much more limited to a 1950's housewife role”, highlighting ISIS’s oppressive approach to women. Nevertheless, women around the world continue to join and support ISIS, specifically through social media. The issue is identity politics. ISIS is specifically targeting women who feel suppressed by Sunni culture. Ultimately, ISIS provides some of its women with important roles (via women’s brigade or comfort roles, or the prestige of marrying a “war hero”). Al-Khansaa is a women’s brigade that provides the members with a monthly salary and heightened sense of importance and status. However oppressive the organization may be, these social amenities have been enticing and effective for women around the world. One of the main roles of women in ISIS is to recruit women from around the world via social media, specifically Twitter and Tumblr. Some girls provide forums in which they answer the questions of their followers about life with ISIS. This expands beyond the issue of identity within the Middle East. Women around the world who may be sympathetic to the struggles of ISIS, and also feeling oppressed by their own governments or cultures, now have access to information and direct communication with ISIS members.

Many interesting examples of women in ISIS on social media in this Buzzfeed article!

Taken from Buzzfeed article

While ISIS has been giving women a series of “responsibilities” within their organization, its interactions with women outside of its reach, in both Syria and Iraq, have been horrific. Its depredations in Iraq have reached “industrial levels”, according to UN sources. Some 1500 men, women and children have been sold into sexual slavery. Rape and forced marriages are extreme in their contradiction of the stated aims of the Al-Khansaa brigade as an arbiter on moral values, but there may be a brutal logic at play behind ISIS’s actions. Many of the rapes committed against minority groups such as Christians or Zoroastrian Yazidis; this could be seen as part of ISIS’s overall strategy of cleansing of non-Sunni orthodox groups. By not only killing the men but enslaving the women, ISIS ensures that whole communities will be destroyed forever. Sexual violence is also an effective tool for intimidation, a way of enforcing obedience in areas only recently conquered. Many of the victims of the sexual violence, kidnappings, and forced marriages also happen to be under the age of 18. Not only do these crimes against women enforce obedience, but they also ensure, to an extent, that the young girls are easier to control and influence for the cause. Rape, sexual violence, sexual slavery and many of the other crimes committed against women by ISIS violate some of the most basic human rights, but inflicting this terror upon children illuminates the need for attention, and intervention, from the international community. Overall, the relationship between ISIS and women is both complicated and cruel. Women flock to join their ranks from non-affiliated countries, recruited via social media and dreaming of marrying jihadis. The women of the Al-Khansaa brigade gain power and status for themselves by policing the morals of other women, even as women in minority communities are captured and sold into sexual slavery. Though many of the active women members of ISIS believe that they are fighting on the side of feminism, their idea of feminism is non-inclusive, involves the annihilation of alternative social groups, and operates solely on the back of one of the most destructive patriarchy.

Taken from Pro - ISIS Tumblr account

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