Women and Violent Radicalization: Research Report

"Media representations of women in extremist groups, or who engage in political violence, are often rife with sexual stereotypes that stress their supposed passivity. Yet such women should not be seen exclusively as victims, since they are also active participants....The present study avoids such prejudices by considering the point of view of the women themselves."

This study was produced in accordance with the 2015-2018 Government Action Plan, Radicalization in Québec: Act, Prevent, Detect and Live Together, under which the Secrétariat à la condition féminine (SCF) and the Conseil du statut de la femme (CSF) were asked to collaborate together with Montreal, Canada's Centre for Prevention of Radicalization Leading to Violence (CPRLV) in documenting the differentiated radicalisation factors among women and men in Québec, Canada. Since 2012, hundreds of young Western women, including some from Québec, have joined jihadist groups in Syria and Iraq. The present study examines their motivations and attempts to explain this phenomenon. It begins by defining radicalisation leading to violence: "A complex process whereby people adopt a system of extreme beliefs and a willingness to use, encourage or facilitate violence, to promote an ideology, political project or cause as a means of social transformation." It then examines the reality of women's involvement in radical Islam and certain jihadist groups.

The analysis is based on a comprehensive literature review and unpublished empirical data from a field study conducted in Québec in which the research team met with people who have been personally affected by violent radicalisation, including several young Québec women who tried to go to Syria, along with their family and friends.

The key finding is that young Western women who radicalise - all of whom (in the study) began their radicalisation between the ages of 17 and 19 - tend to have altruistic motives and are often in the quest to find meaning and identity. They are typically well-educated, well-integrated into society, and hail from stable families. They become convinced they can go to the aid of local populations in Syria, where they will live their religious identity to the fullest, something they think they cannot do in the West. Personal factors create the conditions for radicalisation: traumatic life experiences, confusion over identity, and a search for reference points. These factors combine with an environment in which family heritage (for some, an immigrant or Muslim background) is hard to reconcile with Québec identity. Added to the mix is a complex relationship with the models of womanhood proposed in Québec. In this context, adopting a "total Islam" is one way for these young women to fulfill their need to belong. Some develop a "shell identity" that gradually separates them from the outside world, including family, friends, and the rest of society. For the young women whom the researchers met, the idea of leaving Canada to go to Syria is shaped by jihadist propaganda online, the messages of charismatic figures, and the interpersonal dynamics of a small network of peers. All these factors accentuate their withdrawal into a rigid identity. One young Québecer who tried to leave Québec to go to Syria told researchers she felt like she wasn't helping "the community over there. We feel bad, in fact, because we're not doing anything, whereas we ought to be good Muslims and stand beside our brothers and sisters," she said. "Women who radicalize do it for humanitarian reasons, to help build a new society elsewhere, not really to go fight a war," said Hélène Charron, research director at the Council on the Status of Women. "So, propaganda that targets them really focuses on that difference, and emphasizes the conjugal, maternal and religious ideal that women think they can help build once in Syria."

"To these young women seeking meaning and reference points, the jihadist discourse offers an alternate life. IS [Islamic State in Iraq and Syria] propaganda presents a romantic ideal, glorifying the brave and pious masculine partner who would sacrifice himself for a higher cause. They see themselves as active participants in building an Islamic society in which not only will they be free to practise their religion, they will be valued for wanting domestic fulfillment. Executing the plan to go to Syria involves preparations that are almost always made within a small group of peers, and a series of actions that can make it difficult to turn back. Though they understand the brutal reality of the Syrian conflict, the young women are convinced that they have to go there."

The authors conclude that, in light of these findings, "it seems important that this phenomenon continue to be explored from a gender perspective, and that women's involvement in other forms of violent radicalism also be examined." They point to the issues that future research could explore, such as the rejection of Western models of womanhood, mother-daughter conflicts, the role of the father, and social marginalisation as a catalyst for the radicalisation of young women who at first glance seem well integrated into Québec society. "Despite being a minority phenomenon, women's involvement in violent radicalism necessitates collective prevention that takes into account the differences and inequalities between the sexes."

The paper was a contribution to an international conference of high-level experts entitled "Internet and the radicalization of youth: Preventing, Acting and Living together", organised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Government of Québec, Canada, from October 30 to November 1 2016. Tabled at the National Assembly in October 2016, the paper will be useful in preventing radicalisation, opined Immigration Minister Kathleen Weil. "All of this research will be shared in all of our network....A lot of the work we're doing is also to equip teachers in schools, CEGEPS [a publicly funded pre-university college] and universities because they're often, besides the parents, the first responders...this is what this research is for, to equip them in the work they have to do."

Click here for the 102-page report in English in PDF format.
Click here for the 118-page report in French in PDF format.