Radicalization of Women: The Kazakhstani Case

Abstract

This study aims to examine the process of radicalization among women from Kazakhstan who found themselves in the armed conflict areas in Syria and Iraq. Previously, in academic circles, the main attention was paid to the radicalization of male militants, and studies of the process of radicalization of women were not carried out; only a general picture of extremism in the minds of women was presented due to the lack of direct access of researchers to the women themselves. Following the defeat of the terrorist organization the “Islamic State”, several countries commenced repatriation programs of their nationals, particularly women and children. This development prompted increased academic scrutiny of female radicalization, whereas previous studies had primarily focused on the extremist indoctrination of male combatants when the radicalization of women received significantly less attention. Our study attempts to bridge this scholarly gap. This article presents findings from in-depth interviews with frontline practitioners and repatriated women. In-depth interviews were conducted with repatriated women along with expert interviews with professional theologians, psychologists as well as leaders and staff of non-governmental organizations engaged in deradicalization and reintegration initiatives. Building upon European academic literature and analysis of Kazakhstan’s experience with the radicalization of women repatriated from areas of terrorist operations, individual and structural causes of radicalization have been outlined. The conceptual contribution of our study is to identify the structural causes of women’s radicalization. The authors suggest a change in the strategy of de-radicalization, which is practical in the study.

Keywords: Women in the Islamic State, Repatriated Women from Syria, Radicalization, Terrorist Organisations, Jihadists