Why Western girls move to Middle East to marry ISIL fighters — and what life’s really like when they get there

More on women recruits to ISIS and their motivations and experience in an interview with Joana Cook of King’s College, London:

I would note that women joining extremist groups is nothing new, and the motivations to join have had some similar themes. Women played roles in everything from the Red Brigades in Germany, to the KKK in the U.S., sometimes motivated by their partners to join, but also to engage in the “community.” Themes such as excitement and a sense of adventure, and gaining a sense of independence are cross-cutting. In the case of women going to Syria and Iraq, there were specific initiatives that aimed to promote these marriages, for example opening a marriage bureau in al-Bab for women looking for a husband, or sending the newlywed couples on honeymoons. Similar to how some male fighters have decided to travel abroad, you will see women who are already established in these locations urging other women to come, glorifying the lifestyle and the roles of the men who are fighting (brave, devout, etc.). Increasing imagery of families and children also normalize and motivate some, as can a sense of “sisterhood” for when you arrive.

ISIL have limited the roles that women can take in the public sphere. Their roles have been largely restricted to the private sphere and “support” such as cooking, cleaning, supporting the families and education in the home (for example, how to raise a jihadi). As they are unable to move around freely without an escort, their communication with the outside world may be lessened (example: not being able to go to Internet cafés) and I think this is one of the reasons you don’t hear more about how horrible life there can be. There have been cases of severe sexual violence in some of these marriages, and also women whose husbands are killed fighting, leaving them with small children and unable to support themselves and in very dangerous circumstances. There were examples of unique roles coming out of Raqqa where women were acting as “police units” enforcing ISIL’s strict interpretation of Islam, also engaging in punishing women they found who went afoul of this. Other groups who had previously banned women from fighting roles, such as Hamas and al-Qaida, did change this policy over time for tactical reasons — that is, add an element of surprise. I hope that this does not prove the case.

Why Western girls move to Middle East to marry ISIL fighters — and what life’s really like when they get there.