Gender, radicalization, and patriarchy in Turkey: an analysis of women's motivations and constraints when confronted with ISIS and the al-Nusra front

Abstract

This article locates Turkey in discussions of gender and violent extremism (VE), probes women's diverse roles, motivations, and constraints for and against religious radicalization, and discusses the impact of sustainable patriarchy on their agency. Building on the findings of an extensive field study on women's recruitment to ISIS and al-Nusra from Turkey, the article disproves women's widely assumed passivity, demonstrates other roles as sympathizers, recruiters, and perpetrators, and explores potential push, pull, and enabling factors. It also reveals the hindering effects of patriarchy on women's preventive roles and accentuates the empowerment of both women and women's NGOs for an effective and gender-sensitive fight against VE.