WOMEN AND CHILDREN UNDER ISIS __________________________________________________________________ By Manjiri Phansalkar ABSTRACT ISIS, also known as ISIL – the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (terrorist organisation) is a Sunni jihadist group with a particularly violent ideology that calls itself a caliphate and claims religious authority over all Muslims. With the quantum of attacks, incidents and undercover – sleeper cells persisting in the transient nexus of the twenty-first century, a very striking component of such an organisation is known to bear great repercussions as well as contribute significantly to its working. Women and children – generally considered to be the ‘softest targets’ in any area of conflict, are subjected to excessive torture and are awarded unforeseen, dreadful consequences on committing an apparent act of crime, which is deemed to be against the rules as dictated by their extremist law. It is such an unbecoming setting that calls for the long – due synthesis and analysis of the treatment offered to women and children under ISIS. This paper looks at three prime areas of detailed study, encountering the framework and mechanisms of ISIS, followed by the extremities experienced by women and children and finally a constructive analysis of the atrocities. __________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION ISIS is short for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and is concurrently also known as ISIL or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Towards June 2014, ISIS chose to rename itself as the “Islamic State” accounting to the fact that it proclaimed the creation of a global caliphate. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was their leader since 2010, declared that he was the new caliph and, resultantly, was now ruling all Muslims. ISIS, ISIL and IS appear to be mostly synonymous, however, in the particular case of ISIS, it has been long established that Abu Musab al-Zaqawi was the (extremist) founder of this organisation – in 1999 Within the next five years, al-Zarqawi’s new group rapidly advanced in their recognition through their barbaric activities and simultaneously also chose to associate with Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda (AQI). They are known to and considered to be Islamic extremists, Islamists or Jihadists, closely linked to the dramatically popularised concept of Jihad or “struggle.” Various other terrorist organisations, such as the Taliban, Boko Haram, the Al-Qaeda, Hamas and Hezbollah have also been participating in the global realm of affairs and have been making the news for decades(especially now, considering the ongoing Israeli war in Gaza). However, ISIS appears to be in a strata of its own. In 2014, Al-Qaeda officially dissociated itself from ISIS, and subsequently became a self-sustained entity. Al-Qaeda refused to take responsibility for ISIS’ actions which they deemed to be “too extreme” in some cases. ISIS has proven to be a rather negatively growing potential in the acts of terror across the expanse of the globe, considering which, it has now become a force to be reckoned with. Women and children have always been a significant catalyst in events throughout history. In the case of women, it can be observed that women take various roles for the recruitment, and in that sense become agents for a shift towards radicalization and counter-extremism (Saltman, 2019). Women are the silent driving forces of society. Their involvements and dynamics directly impact the children of the society. Children are seen as the beacon to carrying such radicalised and extremist views forward for society. Focusing particularly on minors, adolescents, it is understood that they are indoctrinated for future jihad, emphasising the influential role that children can also play in terrorist operations (Spencer, 2016) . In this chapter, we attempt to analyse these roles and their impacts in current incidents, in relation to ISIS operations. DECODING : WOMEN AND CHILDREN UNDER ISIS While ISIS poses threats to the world in many ways that are manifested through unexpected scenarios, it is noticeable that not all of it is possible without the necessary requirement of manpower, which would / does essentially engage in acts of terror, in the name of an extremist-jihadist law. Although, from time immemorial, society has known itself to be patriarchal by nature, a similar algorithm applies to the mechanisms of ISIS as well. However, a surprising fact represents itself in the form of participation by women and children in acts of terror across the globe. Considering the popular opinion of women being the suppressed fraction of population under the ISIS, it is rather unlikely to witness women (and children) participation alongside men. Two reasons may be considered here. As a first, women may be subjected to forced participation, as a mandate enforced by the patriarchal guidance of laws, or perhaps they do so willingly, out of their personal choice. On the other hand, in the case of children, it is understandable that – a provocative environment- such as that of ISIS would demand only so much from a child so as to follow the traditions long-established by their forefathers, while also keeping in mind the fact that the children from those women who themselves indulge heinous acts of terror, are bound to bring their children up in a manner similar to theirs. In this section of examining the activities and treatment offered to women and children under the ISIS, a synthesis is observed through a framework of three sequential categories. Primarily, we dive into the ideology that ISIS aims to propagate, followed by the understanding of the linkage as established by the ISIS with women and children and finally produce a simple analysis of the established linkage. ISIS – WHEREABOUTS ISIS follows a very extreme form of Islam known as Salafism (in Arabic al salaf al salih means the “pious forefathers”). It promotes violence and bloodshed to establish and maintain Qur’anic hegemony through a very strict adherence to the Qur’an and Shari’a law. ISIS adheres to an apocalyptic theology and believes that the Mhadi or “guided one” will soon arrive and redeem Islam. ISIS has declared jihad against all infidels. That includes westerners, Christians and Jews. But it also includes any
