Guest House For Young Widows - Among the Women of ISIS

Abstract

Guest House for Young Widows: Among the Women of ISIS by Azadeh Moaveni is a captivating piece of immersive journalism that follows the narratives of 13 women affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS) at the height of its occupation. Moaveni portrays the lives of ISIS women spread out across theUnited Kingdom, Germany, Tunisia, Syria, Turkey, Libya, and Iraq as they attempt to migrate towards Syria. The author converts her qualitative interviews with the women directly into gripping historical prose. She emphasizes that this book does not justify the terrors of ISIS but, rather, intends to deconstruct the stereotype of the female jihadist. This is exemplified by the way many young people were manipulated by tactful propaganda that called for aid in the fight for religious equity and social justice. Moaveni explains, “These stories do not tell the comprehensive story of all ISIS women ... the context is there to illuminate not to justify” (p. 335). Though the interviewees’ names and identifying information are altered to maintain anonymity, as a reader, I could not help but see parts of myself in the text as a young woman: in Nour’s passion, in Asma’s intellect, in Rahma’s stubborn will, and in the infamous vulnerability of the Bethnal Green girls. Simultaneously, Moaveni emphasizes that the women in these stories share more commonality with the men among them than with women of other countries (p. 329). Although I would be quick to categorize this as a piece of academic feminist research, readers are reminded that Western feminist movements have repeatedly been exclusionary to Muslim women (p. 327). Traditional academia creates a disconnect between the global understanding of ISIS and the qualitative perspective of ISIS women’s lived experiences, and it is evident that Moaveni intends to fill this gap. While she panders to the