ISIS:INSIDE THE WORLD OF THE JIHADI WOMEN.
- Experts say women have flocked to join ISIS, which has seized swathes of Iraq and Syria
- One group estimates that up to 15% of ISIS' foreign recruits are women
- In February ISIS formed Al-Khansaa, a female battalion with about 60 members, all under the age of 25
Then there's the photo of
the AK-47 next to the Quran that she posted online, calling for British
Prime Minister David Cameron's head on a spike.
Welcome to the online world of the women of ISIS.
Umm Khattab, as she
identifies herself online, is one of scores of women that have joined
the terror group that has declared an independent Islamic state across
huge swathes of Iraq and Syria in recent months. The Terrorism Research
and Analysis Consortium (TRAC) estimates that as many as 15% of ISIS'
foreign recruits are women -- possibly up to 200 women from at least 14
different countries.
It's not the first time
for women in a jihadist conflict. But it is the first time they have
been recruited in such large numbers.
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"The classic
'mujahadiyah' is in a supportive role -- as a wife, mother, doing the
house tasks for her jihadi male," says Veryan Khan of TRAC. "They have
same goals and ambitions as the men once they get there. Now granted,
their roles may be much more limited to a 1950's housewife role."
That has been the experience of Aqsa Mahmood, once a shy Glasgow schoolgirl, now married to an ISIS fighter in Syria.
She left her family in November 2013 and headed to Syria with nothing more than her university backpack.
She is believed to write a
blog under the name Umm Layth that reads as a how-to manual for any
female ISIS recruit. Top tips: Before you travel, get your shots, pack
sturdy boots and a warm coat. But also, pack plenty of hijabs and niqabs
-- full body veils -- because they are not readily available in the
self-declared caliphate.
"The Syrians (sic) view
of Hijab is a complete joke," she writes in the blog. "The abayas are
skin tight and their niqaab starts from their forehead and ends at their
nostrils."
But her ambitions to take on a frontline role appear to have been thwarted by ISIS' strict rules for women.
"I will be straight up
and blunt with you all, there is absolutely nothing for sisters to
participate in Qitaal," she writes, using the Arabic word for fighting
or killing. "We have plenty brothers (sic) who don't even get selected
on operations. The brothers get upset and start crying since they want
to participate. So, what does that make you think? For the sisters its
completely impossible for the now. InshaaAllah in the future (sic)."
In February, however,
ISIS formed Al-Khansaa, a female battalion with about 60 members, all of
them believed to between under the age of 25. They now have their own
media channel with propaganda videos promoting their work.
The battalion has two
roles: Manning checkpoints and inspecting all women that pass, and
enforcing ISIS' strict morality code for women in the caliphate. There
are reports of the women conducting inspections of schools and markets,
and flogging women who are not fully veiled in the niqab.
"We are seeing two
notable trends that we need to pay attention to: one is women actively
participating, or rather being right behind, the front lines. Second,
their statements that they want to participate even more," says Khan of
TRAC.
"This is obviously
rapidly changing as we speak. They're being trained in weaponry, how to
clean the weapon, how to fire the weapon. And granted these are just
basic bootcamp skills, but they have the means to defend themselves."
Despites the seemingly
trivial exchange of recipes and designs, there is little doubt that
these women are staunch advocates of the values and beliefs of ISIS and
regularly call on other "sisters" from around the world to make the
"hijrah," or journey, to Syria.CNN.
