ISIS’s Recruitment of Women in the Physical and Online Space: Lessons Learned

Abstract

This article explores ISIS’s recruitment of women in the physical and online space and the circumstances and factors that lead to them joining the organization. It begins with a general overview of the overall recruitment efforts of ISIS. Next, it analyzes a case study involving three young women – Khadiza Sultana, Amira Abase, and Shamima Begum, who were recruited by ISIS and, consequently, traveled to Syria from their London homes to become members of the organization. Then, it provides a discussion of the measures against ISIS’s recruitment efforts so far. The chapter concludes with recommended strategies against the recruitment of women for radical organizations. These strategies are grouped into three categories – strategies aimed at the organization itself, strategies aiming at protecting women from becoming vulnerable recruitment targets, and lastly, strategies against the intermediaries who make the recruitment possible.