Female Jihadis

Description

This book probes the phenomenon of Tunisian women recruited for jihad, post–Arab Spring. In the aftermath of the Jasmine Revolution, Tunisia—which is often deemed to have been the most successful country in its democratic transition, and which has a long history of relative gender equality—has nevertheless played host to the mass enlistment of hundreds of women as jihadists. What explains this paradox?

While much has been written about the notable presence of Tunisian female fighters in conflict zones such as Syria, we know very little about these women’s backgrounds or what drove them to join up. Through the biographies of thirty jihadist militants, Leila Ben Mcharek shines a light on the back-stories of such Tunisian women, and analyses their motivations, recruitment patterns and roles within jihadist organisations, both within and outside Tunisia.

Given the country’s transition after the Arab Spring, and the various challenges this has posed, Ben Mcharek also provides an overview of the broader political and social context of these mobilisations. Her study is an indispensable contribution to our understanding of the processes by which women, and especially Tunisian women, may become members of violent and radical Islamist groups.

Reviews

‘Highly detailed, great on history, and very well researched … It’s comprehensive in detail, scope and content … it could become text that readers return to for historical detail and other fine pieces of knowledge.’ — Caron Gentry, Head of School of Global Affairs and Professor of Gender and International Relations, Lancaster University

‘Provides a fresh look into unintended consequences of changes in domestic political structures and identification of Islam within these structures … a significant contribution to understanding the interplay between the local, the regional and global dynamics that have shaped Muslim women’s radicalisation.’ — Samina Yasmeen, Professor Emerita & Director, Centre for Muslim States and Societies

‘Drawn from Arabic-language sources, Female Jihadis addresses a real gap in the study of Tunisian jihadism [and] provides the most detailed empirical portrait to date of how and why Tunisian women entered these milieus.’ — Aaron Y. Zelin, author of Your Sons Are At Your Service: Tunisia’s Missionaries of Jihad

Author(s)

Leila Ben Mcharek is a researcher and consultant with a PhD in Applied Social Sciences from Université Sorbonne-Nouvelle. She has taught at the University of Kairouan in Tunisia, and was a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center; a research fellow at the University of Western Australia’s Centre for Muslim States and Societies; and an analyst for both the UK’s Tunis embassy and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.