T
HE
R
ISE OF
S
UPERWOMEN
THE MISSING DIMENSION IN THE NARRATIVE ON “FEMALE TERRORISTS”
J
ESSICA
S
CIARONE
,
MA
MASTER THESIS CRISIS AND SECURITY MANAGEMENT
The Rise of Superwomen
The missing dimension in the narrative on “female terrorists”
Author: Jessica Sciarone (s1620231)
Supervisors: Prof. Dr. E. Bakker Drs. G.M. van Buuren
Institute: Leiden University
Department of Pubic Policy Crisis and Security Management
Word count: 23093
Abstract
Jessica Sciarone: The Rise of Superwomen, the missing dimension in the narrative on “female terrorists”
(Prof. Dr. E Bakker and Drs. G.M. van Buuren)
Popular media and scholarly articles often deny the agency of women. This is especially obvious when looking at the manner in which women who have migrated to the Islamic State are portrayed. They are often regarded as mere Jihadi Brides or naïve followers of men. Other explanations for their migration are often focused on their unfemininity or a possible violent streak. Thus, current explanations have been unsatisfactory and it is clear that the missing dimension is independent agency. This thesis has assessed and examined the motivations of four western women who have migrated to the Islamic State. Their posts on social media have been examined and analysed in order to find the reasons as to why they have migrated to the Islamic State. The conclusion after this careful assessment is that these four women have made hijrah [migration] due to four distinct motivations; religious duty and identity, establishing a caliphate, helping the Muslim community and countering the atrocities of Assad and because they possess a dichotomous worldview. It is important to note that these conclusions have various implications for the academic debate as well as policy implications to counter radicalization. The four women are not mere followers, Jihadi brides or unworldly creatures, but independent agents.
Keywords: gender and terrorism; radicalization; the Islamic State; independent agency; narratives of women
Acknowledgements
The magnum opus of a master’s degree is the thesis and as such, it should be written on a topic that one finds very interesting. Upon commencing the master Crisis and Security Management in February 2015, I had a very clear idea of what my thesis topic should be. This topic is a topic which I am very passionate about and stems from a broad interest in gender equality and a vehement dislike for fixed gender roles. Gender roles are designed to put people in boxes, and I believe that this is wrong and detracts from the true potential of a person. I believe that each person should be able to take matters into their own hands, no matter what their gender is. Taking decisions as an independent agent is an important aspect of this. Therefore, I applaud women who have done so. In that aspect, I regard any woman who takes their own decisions as a superwoman. Suffice it to say that this does not mean that I condone, agree or support the ideas and acts these women and the organization they have joined, carry out.
This thesis would not have been possible without the guidance and supervision of Drs. van Buuren. Thus, I would like to thank him for his enthusiasm and constructive feedback and the opportunity to write on this topic.
Furthermore, this thesis would not have been possible without the help and support of my family and friends. Writing a master’s thesis is not an easy task, and it can be an arduous process. My family and friends have supported me, as cliché as it might sound, through the good times, and the bad. I would particularly like to thank Nienke Nauta and Rianne Siebenga for their continuous support and their ability to listen to my ideas about gender, the inequality of women and terrorism without complaining once. Further, I would like to thank Cees van Dijk who has read and reread this thesis more than anyone else. His feedback and criticism have been very valuable.
Table of Content
List of Figures ... vi
1. Introduction ... 1
2. Theoretical Framework ... 6
2.1 Gender and Sex ... 6
2.2 Naïve followers… ... 8
2.3 ..Or Independent Agents ... 11
3. Methodology ... 17 3.1 Methods ... 18 3.1.1 Life Stories ... 18 3.1.2 Case Selection ... 20 3.1.3 Data Collection ... 22 3.2 Definitions ... 23
3.2.1 Terrorism and Terrorist Organizations... 23
3.2.2 The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria ... 24
3.2.3 Muhajirat ... 26
4. The Making of Superwomen ... 27
4.1 Umm Layth ... 28
4.1.1 From Harry Potter to Hijrah ... 28
4.1.2 In the Islamic State ... 33
4.2 Green Bird of Dabiq ... 38
4.2.1 Starbucks and the Islamic State ... 38
4.2.2 Die in your rage ... 40
4.3 Bird of Jannah/Shams ... 44
4.3.1 Stethoscope around my neck, kalash on my shoulder ... 44
4.3.2 Till Martydrom Do Us Part ... 47
4.4. Umm Ubaydah ... 51
4.4.1 A Somali woman in the Islamic State ... 51
4.4.2 Nutella Pancakes and Beheadings ... 53
4.5. A tip of the Iceberg ... 58
5. Superwomen or Damsels in Distress? ... 62
5.1 Internal Factors ... 63
5.1.2 Building a Caliphate ... 64
5.2 External Factors ... 66
5.2.1 Helping the Ummah and the Atrocities of Assad ... 66
5.2.2 A Dichotomous Worldview ... 67 5.3 Becoming Mulan ... 69 6. Conclusion ... 71 7. Bibliography ... 75 Appendix I: Glossary ... 81
List of Figures
Figure 4.1: The struggles of the Syrian people……….……….29
Figure 4.2: Aqsa Mahmood’s radicalization process……….30
Figure 4.3: Call for hijrah……….………….31
Figure 4.4: Choosing between right and wrong………31
Figure 4.5: I was so lost………..……..32
Figure 4.6: The true meaning of making hijrah………..……….33
Figure 4.7: Importance of building a caliphate...35
Figure 4.8: Why don’t you come back tot he UK?...36
Figure 4.9: Starbucks and Bubble Tea………..……38
Figure 4.10: Entrance……….………39
Figure 4.11: Cecil the Lion……….…………..41
Figure 4.12: Reality of living in a war zone……….42
Figure 4.13: Emojis……….………….43
Figure 4.14: Why did you make hijrah?...45
Figure 4.15: Twitter Biography of Umm al Baraa………46
Figure 4.16: Decision to marry………..………47
Figure 4.17: Today’s Cub, Tomorrow’s Lion………..…………..481 Figure 4.18: They are not the same………..………..49
Figure 4.19: Radicaliation process………..………...52
Figure 4.20: Cook and clean for husbands...52
Figure 4.21: Somalian people vs. ISIS……….………..53
Figure 4.22: Being a wife and taking care of the kids………55
Figure 4.23: Steven Sotloff………..55
Figure 4.24: Nutella pancakes……….………..56
Figure 4.25: Hatred for Americans……….………57
Figure 4.26: I didn’t come here to seek marriage………..………….58
Figure 4.27: Sexual Jihad……….59
Figure 4.28: Make hijrah……….………….60
Figure 5.1: Free speech………..…………67
1 The picture on the front page is taken from this tweet. This tweet was posted by Umm al Baraa on
1. Introduction
“Know that Hijrah [migration] is fardh [obligatory] when an Islamic State has been established to everyone who *affords* to make Hijrah.” “I have seen old man and even disabled muhajir [immigrant] in Shaam
[Islamic movement]. If they are able to make Hijrah, one should question
themselves why they can’t.” – Bird of Jannah2
The abovementioned quote, taken from the tumblr page of Bird of Jannah [Paradise], a 26-year old Malaysian woman who migrated to Syria to join the Islamic State (IS) and married a Moroccan Mujahideen [fighter], portrays the motivation and belief of this woman to join the Islamic State and the importance of making hijrah [migration]. This quote is just one example of the inherent motivation and independent choices these women make when they decide to join an organization such as IS. However, in popular media and scholarly articles alike, these women are often portrayed as naïve followers or dependent agents.3
The increase of women joining a terrorist network is not just a recent development, although it has seen an increase in the last couple of years. However, women have joined various violent networks for a long time, ranging from the mythological Amazon warrior tribes in ancient Greece to female fighters in Sri Lanka, India, Europe and the Middle East. 4
Nevertheless, the rise of the Islamic State in the Middle East has seen a influx of women joining the Islamic State.5 Even though there has been an increase
in research on the participation of women in terrorist organizations in academia, this research often draws on gendered approaches. This gendered approach usually depicts women as naïve followers of their husbands, fathers or brothers, or depicts them as anomalies who do not confide themselves to the typical nurturing, caring image of a woman. This has become all the more clear when looking at the media portrayal of the recent attacks in San
2 Bird of Jannah, Diary of a Traveller, last accessed on 13/07/2015 (cache)
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:8egKRdG56xcJ:diary-of-a-muhajirah.tumblr.com/page/17+&cd=1&hl=nl&ct=clnk&gl=nl
3 Sjoberg and Gentry, 2013, pp.64-66 4 De Graaf, 2012, pp.16-19
Bernardino in the United States, whereby questions are asked as to why a young mother would commit such an atrocious crime.6 There have not been
many questions as to why a young father would commit such a crime. Thus, current research and media portrayal falls back on gendered and cultural norms when portraying women in conflict.7 Sometimes, the background
stories of men are addressed as well, albeit to a lesser extent. However, women face the brunt of it and their agency is often denied. This binary approach causes problems in academia as well as in society.
Some of these problems are exemplified by the case of Hansina Uktolseja, who gained attention for her role during the train hijacking in the Netherlands. Due to Hansina’s portrayal in the media; as a dangerous, violent young woman, the special unit of the Dutch army saw her as a great danger to their own safety. Thus, when they encountered her, they immediately shot and killed her. Later, it became clear that she was not as violent as her male counterparts and that, at the time of her death, she was not carrying a gun, which means she was no threat to the special unit.8 The way the media
portrayed her played a large role in how the special unit reacted to her.9 The
disproportional attention for her, compared to the other (male) hijackers assured for the fact that she was portrayed as a feisty, aggressive woman. This happens often in cases where female terrorists are involved.10 Thus, it is clear
that women are portrayed in a black and white manner; a woman is either a supporting, caring, mothering type, or an overly aggressive, violent monster. Women who take up arms and decide to join a terrorist organization are regarded as anomalies.
As society becomes more inclusive and women are taking up leading roles, increasing attention for the role of women in every aspect of society is necessary, as is the case with women in terrorist networks. When women participate in terrorist organizations they are regarded as unworldly creatures who lack femininity and the nurturing streak every woman should possess. Hence, the participation of women is seen as a transgression of societal,
6 NRC.nl, Zij Schoot als Eerste, Zagen Getuigen, December 7, 2015, last accessed on 13/12/2015,
http://www.nrc.nl/handelsblad/2015/12/07/tashfeen-malik-huisvrouw-jonge-moeder-en-gesle-1567921
7 Sjoberg and Gentry, 2013, p.64 8 De Graaf, 2012, pp.143-147 9 ibid.
cultural and traditional gender norms. This is in contrast with the manner in which male terrorist are portrayed.11 Thus, there is a denial of not only
womanhood, since violent women lack femininity, but also personhood in general. Violent women are depicted as naïve, impoverished victims of men or circumstance, thus denying their agency. The fact that they are impoverished, naïve, or victims does not take away their own agency and does not make these women powerless.12 By denying their agency, women are turned into
victims, which do not only have consequences for gender equality in general, but also for the prosecution of these women specifically. Using narratives that reduce women- and personhood and denying the agency of women, means that women are systematically marginalized in international debates and scholarly articles written on this topic, as well as in society in general. Additionally, the fact that women are regarded as less likely to commit suicide attacks or join a terrorist organization is advantageous for terrorist organizations, since women are regarded as less dangerous than men.13
Moreover, for international relations and society in general, attention for women is important as well. As O’Gorman and Jabri state: “a gender analysis of women’s lives and experiences does not simply ‘add something’ about women but transforms what we know about men and the activities they undertake.”14 It is important to acknowledge that gender is a variable in the
field of terrorism, as some terrorist organization use female bombers specifically because of their gender.15 The agency of women deserves attention
in this underexposed field and the need for more information and examination of why women join a terrorist network contributes to a sound understanding of the motivations to join a terrorist network in general.
There is an ongoing debate as to why (some of these) women take up arms and join terrorist organizations since this contradicts the traditional, nurturing, caring, and protecting manner in which women are portrayed in scholarly articles, media and society in general.16 Several explanations of the
motivation of women focus on psychological reasons; women often join a
11 De Graaf, p.287 12 Gentry, 2012, p.80 13 Nacos, 2006, p. 448
14 O’Gorman and Jabri, 1999, pp.7-8 15 Berko and Erez, 2007
terrorist network due to a trauma or other shocking event in their lives, or portray a wider reasoning, which mainly focuses on the men in their lives.17
Mia Bloom depicts the decision of women to become suicide bombers by using a five-pronged framework; revenge, respect, redemption, relationship and rape.18 This reasoning is not only applicable to women who commit suicide
attacks, but also to women who join a terrorist organization since these motivations have been used by other scholars focusing on the motivation of women to join a terrorist organization as well.19 Although revenge, respect,
redemption and relationship can be explanations for women and men alike, rape is usually singled out as specific to women.20 De Graaf, too, in her book
on female terrorists, portrays the women as naïve followers and victims of circumstance.21 Women are hardly ever depicted as independent agents acting
in accordance with their own free will. The most recent increase of women migrating to the Islamic State has been contributed to the need of these women to become ‘Jihadi Brides’ [Jihad refers to a struggle, most commonly used for the religious struggle, or war, against non-believers].22 Some recent
media articles have claimed that western women decide to migrate to the Islamic State because they are lured there with pictures of kittens and Nutella.23 This obliterates the independent agency of women and is insulting
to all women at the same time.
It is clear that the missing dimension here is the agency factor. This contrasts with the manner in which men are depicted, as they are usually regarded as independent agents, fully aware of the consequences of their choices and actions. However, the motivation of women does not differ from men in most aspects. Obviously, every muhajirat [female migrant] is different in her motivation, but from the messages on social media of women in the Islamic State, it becomes clear that they have migrated due to personal
17 Najam, 2011, pp.1-3 18 Bloom, 2011, pp. 234-236 19 Najam, 2011, De Graaf, 2012 20 Bloom, 2011, pp. 234-236 21 De Graaf, 2012
22 Hoyle, Bradford and Frenett, 2015, pp. 11-14
23 Independent.co.uk, CNN Offers Unique Perspective on how ISIS recruits Women, February, 2015, last
accessed on 25/11/2015
http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/cnn-offers-its-unique-perspective-on-how-isis-recruit-women--eJxw_XWi3g
motivations and are independent agents. 24 Therefore, this attempt in
portraying women as independent agents is not to show that all women act as independent agents. This thesis merely tries to speak on behalf of these women and represent their stories through an agency lens. This explanation is underexposed in the current scholarly debate and needs clarification. Therefore, this thesis will aim to answer the following question: “To what
extent are women independent agents when they decide to join a terrorist organization?”.
In order to answer this question, a theoretical framework needs to be established. Chapter two will see to this. I will start with a short explanation of the concepts gender and sex, before an extensive overview of the most common narratives and explanations for the motivation of women will be provided. Then I will focus on a counter narrative; the role of agency. Primary sources are the bane of this research. These primary sources are posts from women on social media websites, such as Tumblr and Facebook. A sound methodology is important to acquire the right sources. Therefore, chapter three will explain the methodology used in this thesis. The results of this social media review will be examined in chapter four, and analyzed in chapter five. Chapter six will provide concluding remarks and recommendations for further research.
2. Theoretical Framework
“The lesson is that gender reality must inform the measures designed to
prevent and respond to terrorism and, perhaps more important, the implementation of anti- and counterterrorist policies. Otherwise terror groups will increasingly exploit the tactical advantages of female terrorist in
target societies that deem women far less suspect than men.” – Nacos25 Traditionally, women have assumed and have been assigned the role of nurturing, caring, maternal and peace-loving individuals.26 These roles are
entrenched and inherently connected to the way we view female terrorists, which, as the abovementioned quote shows, works in favor of terrorist organizations when deploying women for their cause. However, there is a transgression of gender roles taking place and now, more than ever, women are taking it up on themselves to join terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).27 This departure from the traditional
roles of women is underexposed in academic literature and the motivation of these women to join a terrorist organization is often reduced to their dependence on men. Before an in depth analysis of the various theories on the motivation of women to join a terrorist can be addressed, an understanding of gender is necessary. Therefore, the different meanings of gender will be addressed before continuing with the various theories on the motivation of women to join a terrorist network.
2.1 Gender and Sex
Gender is a nebulous topic and possesses numerous meanings. According to Sjoberg and Gentry, gender is ‘an intersubjective social construction that constantly evolves with changing societal perceptions and intentional manipulation.’28 It is important to differentiate between the terms sex and
gender. Sex refers to the biological differences between man and woman,
25 Nacos, p, 448
26 See for example Reduced to bad sex: Narratives of violent women from the Bible to the War on Terror
by Sjoberg and Gentry on the traditional views on women.
27 Bradford, 2015
whereas gender refers to the socially given meaning to these two groups.29
Thus, gender portrays these two groups in a dichotomous way, where masculine and feminine roles are assigned to men and women. Elshstain claims that ‘women’s roles are portrayed as frugal, self-sacrificing, and, at times, delicate. In matters of war and peace, the female ‘beautiful soul’ cannot put a stop to suffering, cannot effectively fight the mortal wounding of sons, brothers, fathers. She continues the long tradition of women as weepers, occasions for war and keepers of the flame of non-warlike values.’30 This
difference is important since this research focuses for a great deal on the gender aspect of these groups. There are many more interpretations of the concept of gender, but to go into detail here is not necessary for this research. Thus, the explanation of the difference between gender and sex is sufficient here.
However, it is important to note that the women who are the topic of this research are often portrayed in accordance with traditional gender norms. The women who commit a suicide attack or join a terrorist organization are often seen as deviating from these traditional gender norms. However, this paper argues that the traditional gendered norms and social constructs that are commonly used to portray these women are insufficient and do not do justice to the fact that women are independent agents and are able to make their own conscious decisions. Nevertheless, in academic literature there is an urge to connect the decision to join a terrorist network to other facets of the lives of these women, instead of looking at the agency of these women. Recent analysis has discovered several motives for women to join a terrorist organization. There is a differentiation between two approaches. The first approach sees the role of women as supporters of the network and their motivations to join are dependent on the men in their lives. They are naïve followers and simply victims of men.31 Others view women as independent
agents who act in accordance with their own beliefs and norms and values.32
The next paragraph will provide an in-depth analysis of the first approach, whereas paragraph 2.3 will specify the second approach.
29 Childs, 2006, pp. 7-11 30 Elshtain, 1985, p. 45
31 Lahoud, 2014, de Graaf, 2012, Bloom, 2011, 2007, 2005 Holt, 2011, Kruglanski, 2007
2.2 Naïve followers…
The first approach, where women are regarded as naïve followers, has been given a great deal of attention in recent literature on the topic. Beatrice de Graaf, for example, provides an overview of ten ‘dangerous women’ who have one thing in common; they have all committed terrorist acts. Beatrice de Graaf focuses on the personal events of the lives of these women, coming to the conclusion that most of these ten women were involved in these organizations due to the involvement of the men in their lives.33 Here, de Graaf focuses on
the motivation of these ten women to commit the terrorist acts, but steers away from the independent agent factor of females. Marway describes the gender stereotypes in conflict, where women are regarded as ‘peaceful women’ or ‘beautiful souls’, whereas men are portrayed as ‘just warriors’ and ‘violent men’.34 She further states that when women are involved in conflict it is
usually as an innocent bystander or a supporter through roles such as mothers, wives, and protestors. Men are often portrayed as masculine fighters who fight for a bigger cause.35 Thus, when women decide to partake in
terrorist organizations they move away from traditional gender roles and violate the social order that is set in our contemporary society.
Recently, other scholars have researched the motivation of women to join a terrorist organization. These motivations vary per scholar and a clear distinction can be made between singular and multiple motivations.36
Singular motivations are, for example, Sageman’s explanation which focuses on alienated Muslims in European Diasporas37 or Hassan’s explanation, which
focuses on the terrorists’ dream to enter Paradise. 38 Other, wider,
explanations have gained increasing attention in the past years as well; Stern distinguishes a wide array of motivations such as humiliation, exposure to violence, occupation, lack of prospects, and modernization and many other motivations.39 Ricolfi does the same and distinguishes between revenge and
33 de Graaf, 2012 34 Marway, 2011, p. 222 35 ibid. 36 Kruglanski et al, 2009, p.332 37 Sageman, 2004 38 Hassan, 2001 39 Stern, 2003, pp. 32-69
resentment as important motivations.40 Pedahzur combines personal and
ideological motives to join a terrorist organization.41 One of the most
prominent scholars in this debate is Mia Bloom, who developed a diverse list of reasons for women to commit a suicide attack. This research will build upon this framework and focuses on the motivation to join a terrorist organization, instead of committing a terrorist attack. Bloom distinguishes between five factors that will lead to a suicide attack, colloquially coined the Five R’s. These five R’s consist of Revenge, Redemption, Relationship, Respect and Rape. At first sight, it is clear to see that all of the five R’s are at some level connected to the behavior or influence of others and the reasoning for women to join a terrorist organization are reduced to being dependent on others, and in most cases, dependent on men.
Revenge is described by Bloom as the revenge for the death of a close family member or loved one. Often, this family member was the inspiration for the women to get involved. Here, the reason for a woman to become a suicide terrorist is the fact that something has happened to a loved one, in this case a close family member. Thus, when the motivation of women is revenge, it is highly connected to the role of a close family member or others, reducing the independent agency of women.42 The second motivation as developed by
Bloom is redemption. Bloom focuses on the motivation of suicide bombers and uses the example of Palestinian female suicide bombers. These women live in a predominant Muslim society, where strict norms and values rule daily life.43 When these women are part of an illegitimate romantic relationship or
commit an immoral act according to their cultural or religious standards, they can redeem themselves by committing a suicide attack or, in the case of this thesis, join a terrorist organization. Here too, the intrinsic motivation of a woman to join a terrorist organization lies elsewhere. The agency of a woman is reduced to their social standing and the way they are viewed by their communities.
The third R, relationship, is important not only as a motivation but also in order to understand how women are mobilized and even radicalized.
40 Ricolfi, 2005, p.106 41 Pedahzur, 2005 42 Bloom, 2012, p. 235 43 ibid.
According to Bloom, women are more likely to get involved in terrorist organizations when they are in a relationship with a jihadi.44 Groen and
Kranenberg, who thoroughly researched the motivation of the women of the Dutch Hofstadgroep, further attest this. Many of the women involved got to know the Hofstadgroep through their relationship with an insurgent.45 Thus,
the motivation of women to join a terrorist group related to the third R, is connected to their relationship with family members, their husbands or boyfriends or friends involved in the group. It is clear to see that here too, the intrinsic motivation of the women is reduced to their dependence on others. The fourth R, respect, connects to the way women are seen in society and thus means that the fourth r is connected to other people as well. Bloom states that women often seek respect from their communities or men. They feel the need to show that they are just as capable as men and have what it takes to commit a suicide attack or join a terrorist organization.46 When newspapers wrote
about the first female suicide bomber in the Israeli Palestinian conflict, Wafa Idris, they wrote that “from Mary’s womb issued a Child who eliminated oppression, while the body of Wafa became shrapnel that eliminated despair and aroused hope’.47 Even to this day, young children in Palestine have
posters of Wafa Idris above their bed and adore her for the suicide attack she has committed. Moreover, some of the women who commit suicide attacks are selected for their femininity. The fact that women can wear a bomb belt and pretend to be in the late stages of their pregnancy makes it attractive for terrorist organizations to recruit women. This is exemplified by the case of the Indian female suicide bomber Dhanu, who, at a political rally for Gandhi in 1991 activated a suicide belt hidden by a traditional Hindu dress. The bulge caused by the suicide belt made it look as if Dhanu was pregnant. A policewomen had tried to prevent Dhanu from reaching Prime Minister Gandhi, but he waved her concerns away by stating that Dhanu was pregnant, so there was no need to worry. Sixteen people died in this attack, including Dhanu and the Prime Minister.48 When women commit these attacks or join a
terrorist organization, it can shame men into participating as well. Bloom
44 ibid.
45 Groen & Kranenberg, 2010 46 Bloom, 2012, p. 237 47 Bloom, 2005, p. 57 48 Bloom, 2005, p. 55
draws attention to the fact that these women are honored as heroes after their death, which makes them more valuable death than alive.49 Here, too, the
importance of others is involved and the independent agency of women is reduced. When talking about suicide bombings, the women are more valuable death than alive, which shows their place and importance in these societies.
The fifth motivation, rape, is, according to Bloom only applicable to women. Sexual exploitation is used to coerce women to participate in suicide attacks or to join terrorist organizations. As Bloom states, this is particularly apparent in Chechnya, where women have been raped to coerce them into battle.50 This reasoning portrays women as involuntarily recruits and shows
that they are used as pawns by terrorist organizations. However, Speckhard states that there has been no evidence for the rape or drugging of Chechen women. She claims that women are acting out of free will and have other motivations, such as redemption or revenge to act.51 Although it is debatable if
this recruitment mechanism has been used, it is clear that the fifth R, rape, is also connected to other people, diminishing the agency of women. Nonetheless, Bloom makes a fair point by creating a five-pronged approach, which clearly sums up various motivations of women to commit a suicide attack. She even states that these five are often connected without one clear dominant motivation. However, the fact that Bloom ignores the agency of women is unnecessary and illogical. This thesis does not pretend to give an overview of all the possible motivations for women to join a terrorist organization, but will depict that the agency of women is indeed an important factor and should not be overlooked, as has been the case in the majority of the research focused on gender and terrorism.
2.3 ..Or Independent Agents
While Bloom and others provide an overview of the variety of motivations for women to join a terrorist organization or commit suicide attacks, they deny the agency of these women in doing so. Sjoberg and Gentry, on the other hand, pay significant attention to the concept of agency. Their main point is
49 Bloom, 2012, p. 238 50 ibid.
that ‘if it does not make sense to frame all (male) terrorists as rational, cold, strategic actors motivated only by religious or political goals, it also does not make sense to frame either women terrorists or all terrorists as irrational, emotional, disturbed actors motivated (if at all) by purely personal reasons.’52
Therefore, their book portrays the various narratives of female terrorists. Alison, for example, states that a significant reason for women to join the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka was nationalism.53 Marway takes on a similar view
on Palestinian suicide bombers, where she claims that women are often portrayed as ‘subwomen’ or as ‘superwomen’,54 thereby establishing a
dichotomous manner in which the motivation of women are portrayed. The portrayal as subwomen or superwomen dismisses the agency of women. Marway tries to provide an overview of the various motivations of women and the way that is connected to agency. Galvin agrees with this and depicts women as independent agents fighting for a cause. She claims that ‘most reports are based on first, second, or third-hand recollections of the very small number of cases known to the authorities’.55 With this, scholars search for an
explanation outside these female terrorists. As mentioned before, this reduces the agency of women.
Sjoberg and Gentry clearly have other ideas about this. They portray women as independent agents and emphasize the ability of these women to take their own decisions. In Mothers, Monsters, Whores Sjoberg and Gentry focus on the various narratives the media and scholars use to portray women who commit violent acts.56 They divide the narrative in the narrative of
mothers, monsters and whores. They start with the mother narrative, tracing this back to ancient Greek times with the story of Jason and Medea, where, they conclude, Medea is not credited with her own violent choices.57 They
show that origin for Medea’s behavior lies with her affection for or the behavior of the men in her life and her motherhood.58 They continue by
stating that blaming motherhood for violent choices is not something that has been done only in ancient times. Jaber provides an overview of several
52 Sjoberg and Gentry (eds.), 2009, p. 231 53 Sjoberg and Gentry, 2009, p.135 54 Marway, 2011, p.222
55 Galvin, 1983, p. 19 56 Sjoberg and Gentry, 2007 57 Sjoberg & Gentry, 2007, p. 30 58 ibid.
narratives of Palestinian suicide bombers, where she claims that an Israeli researcher interpreted the motivation of a female Palestinian suicide bomber as follows; ‘they had been disappointed in love’.59 Ragavan et al claim that
violent behavior of women is due to maternal and domestic disappointments, where their actions are driven by events occurring in the private sphere of these women, instead of their own ideology and beliefs.60 Sjoberg and Gentry
divide the mother narrative into two subgroups. They distinguish between the nurturing mother and the vengeful mother. The nurturing mother is still a terrorist, but a non-violent terrorist. She works behind the scenes and fits within the western notion of femininity.61 The vengeful mother, on the other
hand is still maternal, but does not fit within the western notion of femininity. She is driven by rage and anger. This narrative is often seen when talking about Chechen and Palestinian suicide bombers.62
The monster narrative differs from the motherhood narrative in that it sees women as intrinsically flawed. Women are ‘supposed to nurture and protect, not kill’.63 The fact that they deviate from the typical standards of
femininity is the cause of their violent behavior. This narrative was used in portraying Hansina Uktolseja during the train hijacking in the Netherlands.64
These women are portrayed as unworldly creatures because women could, should and would not commit violence. According to Sjoberg and Gentry, women ‘defined within the monster narrative are not real women because they are described as both actually evil and psychologically broken, two facets which the ideal-types of womanhood in gender norms exclude.’65 The whore
narrative focuses on placing the blame with the sexual depravity of women. This narrative sees women driven by their overwhelming perversion, their erotic dysfunction or sexual slavery.66 Looking at these narratives, it is clear to
see that women are often portrayed as incapable of making their own decisions. In doing so, not only their womanhood is called into question, but also their personhood. Sjoberg and Gentry contend that ‘women’s narratives
59 Jaber, 2003, p. 3
60 Ragavan et al. 2003, p. 33 61 Sjoberg and Gentry, 2007, p. 33 62 Sjoberg and Gentry, 2007, p. 35 63 Berrington and Honkatukia, 2002, p. 59 64 De Graaf, 2012, pp.143-147
65 Sjoberg and Gentry, 2007, pp. 37-41 66 Sjoberg and Gentry, 2007, p. 46
of their violence continue to be marginalized and others’ narratives of their violence tell their stories without their permission.67 These three narratives
marginalize and dehumanize women and denying their agency in the process. Sjoberg and Gentry therefore come to the conclusion that agency is an important factor that needs attention when researching the motivation of these women. They state that ‘when popular wisdom had it that women could not work like men, women worked like men until men believed they could. When popular wisdom had it that women could not vote like men, women campaigned until men believed they could. When popular wisdom had it that women were not as intellectually capable as men, women competed in classrooms and workplaces until men believed they belonged there. When popular wisdom had it women had no place in the text of international human rights declarations or war crimes tribunal, women advocated until men listened. Now, popular wisdom says women are not capable of violence like men.’68 This is not to say that women should commit violent crimes and
terrorist acts until the point they are regarded as capable of committing the same crimes and terrorist acts as men. However, it is clear that there is a distinction between men and women and how they are portrayed. Sjoberg and Gentry conclude that the mother, monster and whore narrative portrays women as something different than women; they are not feminine since they go against everything a woman should stand for.69 By using such a narrative,
the women are not portrayed as women, thus diminishing their personhood and agency.
Hoyle, Bradford and Frenett do the same. In their recent report on Western women leaving to join ISIS, they provide a clear overview of the motivation of women to join ISIS. Although the motivations differ and are divergent, they do not reduce the agency of these women.70 They divide the
women who join ISIS in two groups; women that travel with men, and women that travel alone. The second group has been the topic of their research, finding three main motivations; oppression of Muslims around the world,
67 Sjoberg and Gentry, 2007, p. 54 68 Sjoberg and Gentry, 2007, p. 221 69 Sjoberg and Gentry, 2007, p. 224
building the Caliphate and individual duty and identity.71 The radicalization
processes of the first group often happen online, where they tweet, retweet, blog and reblog graphic images of Muslims suffering. These women feel that the west is fighting a war against the Muslims. Umm Irhab, who tweets that ‘this is a war against Islam, so you either are with us or against us’, proves this point.72 This tweet, even though it is not representative for all the women who
travelled to Syria to join the Islamic State, shows the motivation of these women who believe a war is waged against their religion.
The second motivation, the building of the Caliphate, is another example of intrinsic motivation and the agency of these women to join ISIS. They believe that building an Islamic state, which abides by the law of Allah is the greatest good and necessary for Muslims to live peacefully and honorably.73 Lastly, Hoyle, Bradford and Frenett claim that the women
travelling to ISIS believe that it is their ‘mandatory religious duty [fard al-ayn]’.74 The motivation that lies behind this is the aspiration of these women
to join the afterlife. All suffering during their time on earth is worth it, when compared to an afterlife in Paradise. Thus, this report portrays the motivation of women and the decision making process. It is clear to see that these women decided to join ISIS because they believed this was the right thing to do and with this, they strengthen their agency. The report delves deeper into the departure of these female migrants, and focuses on the difficulties these women face when these women leave. 75 This, together with the
abovementioned motivations shows that the women take deliberate decisions to join the terrorist organization.
It is clear that there are widespread and varying motivations of women who decide to join a terrorist organization. It is also clear that many of these women join cause of the hardships they faced in their lives or because they have been drawn into an organization due to connections their husbands, brothers or fathers have with these organizations. Other motivations are Mia Bloom’s five R’s. However, in focusing on these motivations, agency is often
71 Hoyle, Bradford and Frenett, 2015, pp.10-13
72 Umm Irhab on Twitter, accessed through Saltman and Smith, last accessed 28 November 2014 73 Hoyle, Bradford and Frenett, 2015, p. 12
74 Hoyle, Bradford and Frenett, 2015, p. 13 75 Hoyle, Bradford and Frenett, 2015, pp. 15-18
overlooked. This is one of the narratives that is important as well and is therefore the topic of this research. The next chapter will focus on the methodology to assess the importance of the agency of these women to join a terrorist organization.
3. Methodology
“If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences” – Thomas and Thomas76
The manner in which women are viewed differs per scholar, journalist and writer. The common denominator here is the fact that women are often regarded as weak, naïve followers. This image stems from societal and cultural norms and a gendered approach towards the motivation of women to join a terrorist organization. Thus, by explaining their actions in a certain way, it contributes to gender stereotypes and denies the agency of women. Often, scholars have used various methodologies in order to prove their point. Beatrice de Graaf, for example, focuses on information gathered from news outlets and interviews with families.77 Sjoberg and Gentry often conduct
interviews with their subject, in order to gain insight into the motivation of these women.78 Others look at the way these women expose themselves on
social media.79 It is clear that there are various options as to gain insight into
the motivation of these women. All these methods have various advantages and disadvantages. Hence, picking one of these methods is an arduous task and needs careful consideration. I have chosen to carefully monitor their posts on social media. This chapter will explain the reasoning for this choice and what this choice entails. Further to this, this chapter will examine important concepts, which needs clarification for this thesis.
76 Thomas and Thomas, 1928, p. 572 77 de Graaf, 2012
78 Sjoberg and Gentry, 2013
3.1 Methods
Methodology is the solid foundation of any research. It is one of the most important aspects since it proves the validity and reliability of a research and the outcome. Therefore, considerable attention will be given to the methodology of this research. Firstly, the methods of this research will be examined, before elucidating the main concepts relevant to this research.
3.1.1 Life Stories
Life histories are stories told by subjects to researchers. According to John Dollard, life history ‘is a biographical or autobiographical document organized and analyzed from some systematic point of view. Its purpose is to give an adequate conception of the person’s life and, also, an understanding of culture by affording a concrete account of the assimilation of the individual, by showing the way in which the individual is incorporated into the group and becomes a microcosm of the group features of his culture’.80 Life histories
have traditionally been popular methods of gathering information, but it does face critiques in terms of their validity and reliability. Issues of a researchers’ bias and exaggerations and lies of the subjects are oft-cited critiques.81
However, there are various tools, techniques and approaches to life histories. This variation does not only contribute to an increasing validity and reliability; it also shows that there is a movement towards the notion that there are more layers to a person than one. The personal self is not ‘unitary and fixed’; rather, it is fragmented and ever changing.82
Peacock and Holland distinguish between several approaches. Firstly, the life-focused approach can be divided into two sub approaches. In the first sub approach, the factual approach, the data that is gathered is checked against other data about the event. The second sub approach, the subjectivist approach, focuses on the expression of the subjects’ psychological disposition.83 It is clear that the first approach could be considered more
reliable and truthful, since the stories are checked against other data of the event. However, in some cases it is important to solely look at how the subject
80 Reuter, 1938, p. 841
81 Peacock & Holland, 1993, p. 367 82 Peacock & Holland, 1993, p. 368 83 Peacock & Holland, 1993, p. 369
feels and what the psychological disposition was at the time of the events taking place. Therefore, checking the life histories against other facts of that day might be unnecessary in some cases, since the sole purpose of the research is to look at the psychological dispositions. It is clear that in this approach, ‘a presumed reality external to the narration is paramount’.84
The second approach, the story-focused approach, emphasizes the story. This approach focuses on the form of the narrative.85 This approach
examines the stories that are told, all the while emphasizing what has been said. Thus, the role of the narrative is important here, as is the role of the words that are spoken.
In the third approach, the process approach, the telling of a story is treated as a process. In fact, this is so important that it shapes the social and psychological processes and thus the outcomes of the life stories.86 Peacock
and Holland distinguish between four aspects of the process. Firstly, the psychocultural aspect of the process approach emphasizes the culturally constructed part of the narrative. Secondly, the psychosocial aspect of the process approach emphasizes the importance of narrative in forming and maintaining social relationships and collective identity. Thirdly, the hermeneutic aspect of the process approach emphasizes the importance of the interaction between the teller and the listener. Fourthly, the cultural aspect of the process approach emphasizes the formulation of beliefs, values and ideas, which are basic to a cultural tradition.87
The third approach, the process approach, might seem an unreliable approach to gather information for a scientific paper. The stories that are told are shaped by other factors and the stories are subject to change, which decreases its validity and reliability. However, this does not take away the fact that the process approach of life stories is a valuable asset for research in social science. It may be clear that every person is shaped by his or her environment and culture. This goes for the women migrating to the Islamic State as well. Their stories and their explanations for leaving portray their truth. Tracing this back to the quote at the beginning of this chapter, which is
84 ibid.
85 Peacock & Holland, 1993, p. 370 86 Peacock & Holland, 1993, p. 371 87 Peacock & Holland, 1993, pp. 371-372
also know as the Thomas Theorem, “if men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences’88 which means that the women who have migrated
to the Islamic State truly believe their stories are the truth since the consequences of these stories is their migration to the Islamic State. When researching the motivation of women to join a terrorist organization such as ISIS, the narrative is important, as well as the psychocultural, sociocultural, cultural and hermeneutic aspects of the creation of these narratives. Hence, the process approach, even though it might seem as an approach whereby validity and reliability are diminished, is a great method for this research. Another important point to mention here, is the fact that social media analysis of these women will be conducted as well. Often, people try to carry out a specific image of themselves on social media. This makes it difficult to distinguish between authentic migrants and online trolls. Trolls are people who deliberately post information online to provoke a certain reaction. Online trolls are a risk connected to any type of social media research, but this risk can be limited by creating a solid data selection method. Nonetheless, I have specifically chosen to use the outings on social media, since it provides a great overview as to how these women view themselves. Therefore, the subtitle refers to the narrative of these women. Since it has been impossible to talk to these women themselves, their narrative is told through their posts on social media. Referring back to the Thomas Theorem, if the online image of how these women view themselves is real, then the consequences of their actions are real as well. Therefore, their outings on social media should be viewed as portraying their reality. The case selection method and data selection will be examined next.
3.1.2 Case Selection
“A case study may be understood as the intensive study of a single case where the purpose of that study is – at least in part – to shed light on a larger class of cases. Case study research may incorporate several cases, that is, multiple case studies.”89 Case study research is a great way to get an in-depth insight into a
specific case. Due to the nature of this research it might seem as if it would
88 Thomas and Thomas, 1928, p. 572 89 Gerring, 2009, p. 20
benefit from a n cross case analysis. Although it might seem as if a large-n case study desiglarge-n would be a better fit for this research, ilarge-n reality, it is large-not. The fact of the matter is that there are currently not enough cases and data for a large-n study. Furthermore, at the base of this research lies the need to explore this topic; this research is explorative and does not test any theories or hypothesis, which is often the case in large-n studies. Thus, a case study research design has been selected for this research.
A case study research is great for increasing the in-depth knowledge of a topic. There are some disadvantages to it as well. According to many scholars, a case study research provides the researcher with subjective conclusions, nonreplicability and causal determinism. A case study research can also invoke the criticism of biased case selection.90 When operating a case
study research design, it is important to note that this does not necessarily mean that one case is the subject of attention. A multiple case study research design is possible as well. One of the disadvantages of a multiple case study is the fact that not all cases are perfectly representative of the population.91 Even
though the disadvantages of a multiple case study seem insuperable, especially compared to a cross-case research design, they are not. Since the topic of this research has had considerable less attention than other facets of terrorism, specifically with regards to women migrating to the Islamic State, a case study research is perfectly suitable in this instance.
A multiple case study research design is by far the most appropriate type of research design since it has the possibility to explore new areas of research and generate hypothesis. According to Gerring, ‘case studies may be more useful than cross-case studies when a subject is being encountered for the first time or is being considered in a fundamental new way.’92 Terrorism
has been a topic of research for several decades, but using a gendered lens is rather new. Looking at a case study design in terms of validity, it is clear that the internal validity is greatly enhanced by this research design. According to Gerring, ‘it is easier to establish the veracity of a causal relations pertaining to a single case (or a small number of cases) than for a larger set of cases.’93 It is
90 Gerring, 2009, p. 6 91 Gerring, 2009, p. 20 92 Gerring, 2009, p. 40 93 Gerring, 2009, p. 43
clear that the external validity is not guaranteed since a small sample of cases poses difficulties for the representativeness of a research. However, as mentioned before, this research deals with humans. People are fickle and capricious which makes it very difficult to represent a large group in general. Moreover, the fact that a person is shaped by its experiences and environment makes it difficult to draw conclusions anyway. Additionally, the goal of this research is gathering theoretical knowledge, instead of generalizing to an entire population, which means that external validity plays a less important role when considering research designs. It is important to emphasize here, again, that this research does not pretend to provide definite answers as to why women decide to join a terrorist organization; it tries to determine the agency of this women in their motivation to join a terrorist network. Another advantage of a multiple case study design is the fact that intensive and in-depth knowledge of the cases will be acquired. The reasons for selecting a multiple case study research design are clear and the benefits of this easily outweigh the disadvantages.
3.1.3 Data Collection
Due to the specific nature of this research and the volatile mindset of the subjects, it is very difficult to get in touch with the women in the Islamic State. Through social media such as Ask.fm, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook and Kik I have tried to contact women in the Islamic State. However, none of the women have reacted to the messages. Melanie Smith mentioned that there should be enough information on social media about these women, which means that personal contact with these women is not strictly necessary.94 Next
to this, their social media accounts on the previously mentioned websites will be monitored and analyzed while looking at their social media posts. Identifying these women as migrants to the Islamic State is a difficult task as well and the risks of facing trolls and fake accounts can be a problem. This problem has been addressed in the previous paragraph. Furthermore, a lot has been said and written about female migrants in media reports and scholarly articles. When this was available, this has been used as well. It is
important to note that in some media outlets these women have been defined as jihadi brides. When such articles are used in this thesis, it is merely to show the manner in which this portrayal occurs. These articles are mainly from New York Magazine, CNN and the Canadian news website CBC Canada.
Identifying these women on social media is based on how they have portrayed themselves on said social media. Thus, selecting a female migrant has been done by the way they self-identify on their social media accounts. In order to find these women, a method of ‘snowballing’ is used, whereby the female migrants are identified when they self identify as ISIS migrants or when they it is clear that they live in ISIS territory (because of what they post on social media). This has led to extensive information on various accounts created by these women. Some of these accounts have been deleted by the social media platforms, such as their Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook accounts. In some cases a cached version, a version that has been saved by a search engine95, of these websites has been used. The women that have been selected
for this research are Umm Layth, Green Bird of Dabiq, Umm al Baraa and Umm Ubaydah. They have been selected on their social media activity. These four women all have been very vocal about their motivations for making hijrah, which differ per woman. In most cases, during the course of writing this paper, their Twitter and Tumblr pages have been deleted. When their pages were still online, screenshots were taken.96
3.2 Definitions
Terminology is an important part of any research. In order to provide a solid research, the terms used need to be clear. Therefore, the next sub paragraphs will elucidate the various important concepts of this research.
3.2.1 Terrorism and Terrorist Organizations
According to Resolution 1566, a resolution unanimously adopted by the Security Council, terrorism is regarded to be “criminal acts, including acts
against civilians, committed with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury, or taking of hostages, with the purpose to provoke a state of terror,
95Googleguide, Cached pages. Last accessed on 01/10/2015
http://www.googleguide.com/cached_pages.html
96 Some of these screenshots are portrayed in this thesis. All other screenshots are available upon
or compel a government or international organization to do or to abstain from doing any act which contravened terrorism-related conventions and protocols, were not justifiable for any reason – whether of a political, philosophical ideological, racial, ethnic or religious nature.”97 Thus, a terrorist organization is an organization that purposefully provokes a state of terror. After the recent events in Paris, it is clear that ISIS is able to do so. It is important to note, however, that there are many more definitions of terrorism available, and that it is an essentially contested concept. Schmid states that the US alone utilizes twenty different definitions of the concept.98 Another
important point to keep in mind is that one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. This means that, when looking at the Islamic State fighters, they are regarded as terrorists by all states and many organizations. However, they see themselves as true believers and not as terrorists. The next paragraph will briefly define what the Islamic State exactly entails.
3.2.2 The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham or the Islamic State (IS) is an extremist terrorist organization, following the Salafi Islamic regime.99 They have proclaimed a caliphate in June 2014, which is a state
governed in accordance with Sharia law by Allah’s deputy on earth, the Caliph. Also in 2014, they changed their name to the Islamic State (IS). When a caliphate is proclaimed, it is the religious duty of every Muslim to make hijrah [to migrate] to the caliphate. The Islamic State originated from a movement called Tawhid wa al-Jihad in 2002. This movement was established by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian who pledged allegiance to Bin Laden after the US-led invasion in Iraq. After his pledge of allegiance, Zarqawi formed al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). In 2006 al-Zarqaqi died and AQI created an umbrella organization, the Islamic State in Iraq (ISI). In 2010 Ibrahum Awad Ibrahim al-Badri al-Samarrai, also known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a former US detainee, became the leader of ISI. In 2013 joined the rebellion against
97 United Nations Security Council, Resolution 1566, 2004,
http://www.un.org/press/en/2004/sc8214.doc.htm
98 Schmid, A., 2013, pp. 16-18
99 BBC.co.uk, What is Islamic State?, 2015, last accessed on 10/09/2015
