The Role of Women in the Islamic State (Essay Sample)

The Role of Women in the Islamic State
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The Role of Women in the Islamic State
Islamic State attracts women followers whose multilayered and situational roles are centered on supporting their militant husbands. The enduring commitment of women to the cause of the Islamic State remains a critical concern because it dramatically impacts their lives. The perception of women in the movement differs as they are sometimes involved as active agents and as voiceless victims. One of the dynamic roles women engage in furthering the mission and agendas of the movement is by acting as propagandists and recruiters. Despite showing commitment to the movement and its ideologies through their adopted roles, women also face a myriad of challenges, such as gender stereotyping.
Women as Propagandists and Recruiters
The influence of women as propagandists and recruiters for the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq (ISIS) in the Middle East cannot be overlooked. The women use social networking platforms (online jihad) as the primary "tool" to lure and encourage people to join the Islamic State (Mah-Rukh, 2015). These women flood sites such as Facebook and Twitter with pro-Islamic State propagandist messages that portray the movement as a legitimate state. One such classic example of a well-known pro-Isis propagandist was an American woman known as "ISIS Superstar." Using more than 100 fake Twitter accounts, "ISIS Superstar" posted several messages encouraging people to make Hijrah to ISIS (Inch, 2017). She managed to brainwash and radicalize several Western males to move to Syria and Iraq to become foreign fighters and contribute to the construction of the ISIS utopic version of a safe haven for Muslims.
The emergence of feminist militarism in the Islam world has reinforced the position of women in ISIS as active participants in violent jihad. By sharing their experiences, women in ISIS have successfully encouraged young males and females around the globe to show solidarity for their "brothers" and "sisters." The propagandist campaigns have garnered visibility and support from young males and females around the globe. Besides using social media networking platforms, women in ISIS are also using magazines like al-Khansaa to radicalize other women to involve in activities of jihad.
Challenges Faced By Women in the Islamic States
The crude diktas in ISIS are used as a tool to perpetuate gender stereotyping against women. Chatterjee (2016) argues that women in the terrorist group have turned into the flag-bearers of patriarchy while their consciousness are subdued. Women do not have the freedom to exercise free choice because the patriarchy remained an inherent form of the structural violence of ISIS. As a result, most women have become voiceless victims tormented under the ISIS diktas (Chatterjee, 2016). Some of the captured and recruited women are raped and enslaved to satisfy the sexual needs of the militants. The women are also utilized to bear and ideological children who will act as future jihadists.
Even though such gender stereotyping results in the violation of women's human rights and fundamental freedoms, the group views such treatment as ideologically justified through its strict interpretation of sharia's law (Vale, 2019). IS' men are often depicted as lions because of their battlefield successes to defeat an inferior enemy. On the other hand, women are viewed as an ideal image of a symbol of purity, chastity, and modesty. The group has thus instituted a series of dress and behavioral codes that women are mandated to follow strictly. The stipulated dressing code includes wearing the sharii attire, long gloves, and a twin layered covering over the face. The group also dictated the tone of voice women use when talking to men; they are expected to lower their voice but not flirtatiously soft.
Women who violated the enforced modesty and behavioral codes risked being punished by the group's morality punishing brigades. The harsh punishment ranges from lashing for those wearing inappropriate attire to death by stoning for women found guilty of adultery. The overall goal is to ensure that women stay at their rightful place- in the home, engaging in domestic responsibilities (Spencer, 2016). The gender stereotyping in the group has resulted in a lot of suffering and cruelty, such as imprisonment, torture, and sexual abuse to women who dare to contradict the stipulated policies.
Avoiding the Challenge
The first step towards avoiding the challenge is for women to realize that their abilities and personality determine what they can ach