It’s thought that of the 700 or so Britons who have travelled to Syria to join Islamic State (Isis), around 100 are women and girls. These figures are only estimates, though: many parents never report their children to the authorities, for fear of making the situation worse, or because they don’t want to involve the police.

By tracking and monitoring girls who are now living in Syria, academics are beginning to understand some of the reasons these young women choose to make the journey. And yet many argue that until those who become disillusioned are allowed to return, we’ll never know the full range of motivations.

At a Guardian Live event, Tazeen Ahmad, an award-winning reporter who has been investigating radicalism for the past 20 years, joined four ex-radicals and Melanie Smith from the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence to give an insight into why some young girls choose to leave the UK for a life with Isis.



But is it different for girls? Former extremist Alyas Karmani, now a counsellor involved in de-radicalising young people, is frustrated that many commentators treat women who travel to Syria differently from men who make the same journey. “The women are somehow victims of grooming, or they’re susceptible or they have multiple vulnerabilities. The men are just bad,” he said. “I don’t like the term jihadi bride; it’s quite sexist and reinforces lots of the stereotypes we have around Arab men, Muslim men and their vociferous sexual appetite. Women act on their own agency - like men.”

The two other women on the panel (using pseudonyms Salma and Yasmine) had both been part of radical groups, working to recruit other young women, before switching allegiances to try to prevent young girls becoming radicalised. Salma is now in touch with 30 girls aged 13-15, some of whom are friends of the three girls from Bethnal Green who left for Syria in February.



Meanwhile, Melanie Smith is working with a database of 119 women from Europe, the US, Australia and Canada who are known to be in Isis territories, trying to find out their motivations and more about their life with Isis. They range from 14-46 and from pre-GCSE to postgraduate.

Salma and Yasmine agreed that the main push factors for them were their faith and a desire for identity. “These women have a perception armageddon is near,” said Yasmine. “For them it’s an honour issue. They think they’re going to be protected, that the West cannot harm them.”

Isis offers an identity that transcends culture. Shiraz Maher

The panel agreed there are no simple answers, and every case is different. “There are multiple factors at play,” said former radical Shiraz Maher, a senior fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation. Salma agreed: “There’s not one answer. But what we do have is the trends.”

Identity

All the ex-radicals point to identity as a huge issue. “Many young British Muslims are confused about where we fit in the world,” said Maher. “Isis offers an identity that transcends culture. It says: ‘Here’s an intellectual identity - you’re Muslim.’” He said Isis knows exactly what it stands for and is confident urging others to become better Muslims and to join it.

Women can find the issue of identity particularly difficult .“What does it mean to be British, Muslim, Somali, Ethiopian?” asked Smith.

Karmani said that while we may see Isis as evil, some Muslims see it as the caliphate. “They no longer have to wrestle with are you this, are you that – you’re a Muslim.”

Faith

But women are also incredibly ideological according to Maher. “A lot of the guys are idiots – they’re attracted to the macho side of it - whereas women tend to have given it much more sober thought and made a very conscious choice.”

The girls Salma is in touch with are all A-grade students. “They have that activist mentality that’s you’re supposed to have at university,” she said. “These girls have it already at GCSE level. They want a cause.”

Questioned how these girls could stand by as Yazidi girls are being tortured and killed, Salma says: “If you have conviction you’re doing it for the sake of God, you can do anything. They say it’ll be hard to leave your mum, but you’re doing it for Allah. Extremists make everything very black and white.”

Karmani said converts to Islam were particularly vulnerable as they wanted to do everything right, to be the best Muslim they could.

Extremists make everything very black and white Yasmine

Curiosity

Salma has talked to friends of the Bethnal Green girls who say their peers were simply curious. “The media are going on about Isis all the time, but they don’t know what’s going on. That feeds the curiosity: so people look on social media and Isis are waiting, fishing for curious girls.”

For other girls, the allure may be the desire to find a Muslim husband. “Some fall into the category of jihadi brides - they have been lured in by attractive men,” said Salma. The panel also mentioned the draw of the sisterhood - which was a big draw for many young Muslims feeling isolated in the UK.

Salma told of one girl who made the trip. “Her mum said she’s 13 – how did she get on a plane? She’s scared of going upstairs.” A lot of it has to do with the virtual friendships that are struck up: the girl felt she had an imaginary friend there the whole way, telling her what bar to go to, what to order, what gate to board at, what plane to catch. They feel hypnotised in the way Isis manages them.

Freedom

Karmani said many young Muslims believe they have less freedom in the UK than they would have in Syria. He said the three women from Bradford who travelled to Syria with their children were British born, very articulate and educated, yet came from a austere, socially conservative families and were kept indoors. He talked to people on the street who said they never saw the girls out and about.

“Then they were married to men from Pakistan, from the clan no doubt, without much of a choice I would say. It’s bizarre that in parts of Britain we have situations like this where young people have even less freedom and are constrained – that Isis somehow stands for empowerment, freedom and liberation.

“They see that as a better place to bring their children up - better than where I live in that particular part of Bradford, where there are high crime rates, lots of drug dealers and three generations of worklessness. They saw bringing up their children in Islamic State as much more progressive and empowering than the reality in the UK.”

These feelings resonated strongly with Salma, who said she used to call herself a fish out of water. “With the convictions I had I felt I couldn’t live in this country any more,” she said. “I remember writing: ‘I feel jealous that I can’t take my children to the local school because its not Islamic.’ I felt suffocated.”

There’s an army of young women online who will say whatever it takes to get young people over to join Isis, said Salma: “They say: ‘We’ve got Kalishnikovs, if that floats your boat, we’ve got hospitals, we’ve got restaurants. Whatever tickles your fancy - we’ve got it.’ It’s sometimes that basic.”

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