Women of the Caliphate: The Mechanism for Women's incorporation into the Islamic State (IS)

Women of the Caliphate: The Mechanism for Women's incorporation into the Islamic State (IS)

The ongoing incorporation of women into the Islamic State (IS) is unlike what any other jihadi organization inthe recent history of jihadism has attempted to achieve. An important question is therefore: how does IS reconcileits ultra-conservative Islamic narrative of women, with the organization’s incorporation of women? By analyzingprimary data collected through fieldwork in the Middle East, the author of this article argues that, throughthe platform of ‘gender-segregated parallel institutions,’ IS has established a mechanism by which Muslimwomen are being effectively incorporated into its envisaged Islamic State. Through this mechanism, IS hasinspired a substantial number of women from around the globe by advocating an alternative narrative of divineredemption to the one of secular emancipation of women.