The question of whether to repatriate the women of Islamic State, and the level of surveillance they require if they are returned, is a troubling one.

However, treating women with leniency and a positive security bias — such as Westerners like 19-year old Shamima Begum and Hoda Muthana who are seeking to return to the UK and US respectively — could potentially backfire.

My research suggests that women are no less zealous than men and are driven by broadly similar factors in supporting and joining Islamic State.

During my fieldwork I spoke with women whose communities have been infiltrated by Islamic State actors and found that in many cases it is the women who are the driving force encouraging their husbands and families to join the group.

By refusing repatriation, we may inadvertently help Islamic State to achieve its goals.

Of course, some women are genuine civilians, such as Yazidi women escaping those who imprisoned them as sex-slaves.

Displaced people from the minority Yazidi sect walk towards the Syrian border to escape Islamic State. ( Reuters: Rodi Said )

Yet many women of Islamic State shouted with pride as they evacuated Baghouz in Syria in late February, the last stronghold of the Islamic State's caliphate, despite difficult conditions including hiding for long periods in holes in the ground to survive airstrikes.

Women such as Umm Hamza declared: "The brothers are lions. They will fight on. The Islamic State remains. We are weak now, but we will come back again".

Such statements would be of no surprise, and warrant retribution, if they came from bearded, male fighters. But when coming from women — as evidenced by the debate surrounding Ms Begum and Ms Muthana — reactions are inconsistent with the threat they potentially pose.

More significantly, this reaction reflects underlying gender assumptions that can undermine our understanding and response to that threat.

Reports suggest the majority of evacuated women from Baghouz are Iraqi and Syrian however, some are Western muhajirat (female emigres) from France, Austria, Britain, Germany and Australia. Footage emerged of Australia's first "jihadi bride", Zehra Duman.

Yet, while suspected male fighters are being sent to detention facilities, female champions of Islamic State are often treated as civilians and taken to camps for displaced persons.

Sorry, this video has expired Exclusive footage of the first Australian jihadi bride to emerge from Islamic State's last stronghold.

How Islamic State attracts women to its ranks

My research and fieldwork have focused on understanding how Islamic State uses gender in its propaganda.

Islamic State propaganda tends to portray women according to five key archetypes: "supporters", "mothers/sisters/wives", "fighters", "victims" and "corrupters". Improved understanding of these categories would assist in developing more effective terrorism prevention strategies.

Islamic State frames "supporters", "mothers/sisters/wives" and "fighters" as ideals; something for its supporters to strive for and in return, the ills imposed on her by Islamic State's enemies will be addressed. In contrast, "victims" inspire sympathy while "corrupters" are devious women.

These female archetypes are used by propagandists to divide the world between 'good' and 'evil' with different gender constructs used to reinforce that view.

This is a strategic play on cost-benefit reasoning on the one hand and identity-oriented factors — a sense of belonging — on the other.

That sense of belonging to Islamic State can be so strong that despite the hardships of war in Baghouz, for example, some women maintain they that they only left the city because their "Caliph" ordered them to.

During my research among women and families in communities impacted by Islamic State across south-east Asia it became clear how these constructs resonated with the those who supported the group.

In many cases, women were simply seeking to improve their prospects through better livelihoods, stability, security and belonging. Yes, this often meant marriage to Islamic State militants, but that does not diminish the overarching motivating factor.

Have no doubts, for many women who actively joined Islamic State, their motivation was driven by a cost-benefit consideration of the alternatives. This may be hard for Westerners thousands of kilometres from the harsh realities of life in these communities to appreciate, but it's essential for understanding the phenomenon of women in Islamic State.

A camp for displaced persons in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. ( Reuters: Azad Lashkari )

Building in new networks in camps

This does not diminish the potential threat from these women. In fact the opposite is true.

Female Islamic State supporters who are now being sent to internally displaced person camps have built networks with other jihadists over months or years.

The potential is that these relationships could offer opportunities for Islamic State to propagate its influence among desperate people and establish networks in the broader community via freed female supporters.

These highly connected and motivated networks are potentially more significant now that Islamic State is reverting to an insurgency: those human networks that will be the foundation on which the organisation attempts to rebuild.

What is the responsibility of the West and the rule of law?

Western governments need to consider their responsibility towards repatriating female citizens who have been involved with Islamic State.

Firstly, it is crucial that fallacious gender biases fuelling sentiments of compassion and sympathy for these women are not the foundation for informing policy.

Women wearing burquas pose on a car with machine guns believed to be Raqqa. ( Twitter )

Neither should equally visceral responses of disgust and anger be used to justify the circumvention of rule of law. Adhering to rule of law must be the priority.

If Western democracies are going to demand other countries be more responsible for their citizens, then we must do the same if we are to maintain legitimacy and set appropriate precedence for others.

Indeed, the incentive to prevent men and women from travelling abroad to join groups like Islamic State must be reinforced by repatriating them.

Iraq and Syria are already struggling to provide shelter and resources for millions of locals in need of humanitarian aid, let alone now being responsible for the men, women and children fleeing Islamic State territory.

If foreign governments dodge responsibility, such pressures will only increase on local Western allies who have done the bulk of the fighting and dying in an effort to rout Islamic State from territorial control.

The risk of aiding the enemy

If Western foreign fighters don't return to face prosecution by their home governments, which is the position of the UK and Australian governments, there is a chance they may be released by their captors into Syria or Iraq, simply because exhausted allies on the ground don't have the time or inclination to deal with our citizens.

Western nations need to be careful not to inadvertently help to facilitate the next phase of Islamic State's strategy by releasing women who are likely to take a central role in its politico-military agenda and in the hubs of its regenerating network.

Western nations not repatriating citizens who have been foreign fighters potentially sets up a precedent for other nations to do the same, and in far higher numbers. Western nations must remain committed to allies in the fight against Islamic State. This should mean not only taking responsibility for their own citizens, but staying the course to help allies in their fight against Islamic State the insurgency, now the Caliphate is defeated.

Kiriloi Ingram is a PhD candidate at the School of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Queensland. Her research interests include international politics, gender, politically-motivated violent movements, information operations, philosophy and religion. Follow her on Twitter @KiriloiIngram