A cura di @s1m0n4.

Uno studio (link alternativo) pubblicato a Marzo di quest’anno svela quale visione della società attuata dallo Stato Islamico sia riuscita ad attrarre un numero di donne occidentali senza precedenti nella storia dei proto-stati jihadisti.

Fra i fattori chiave di tale popolarità, una chiamata alle armi rivolta non solo a combattenti, ma anche a medici, giudici, ingegneri, esperti di giurisprudenza islamica e il parallelismo istituzionale alla base del concetto di segregazione di genere.

Nell’intento di ridurre al minimo le interazioni fra uomini e donne, l’ISIS ha istituto organi statali paralleli gestiti interamente da donne nel settore educativo, sanitario, amministrativo, di sicurezza, finanza, etc.

Le musulmane occidentali che si sentivano marginalizzate dalle premesse del secolarismo, che si contrappone alle interpretazioni più radicali dell’Islam, soprattutto per quel che riguarda le interazioni fra uomini e donne, hanno così trovato, nei territori occupati dall’ISIS, la possibilità di vivere la religione nella sua versione più ortodossa, mantenendo però anche gli obblighi sociali di un qualsiasi membro della comunità di riferimento.

Dai video di propaganda, una donna alla quale in Francia veniva rifiutato l’accesso alle scuole pubbliche perché indossava il velo, a Raqqa sarebbe potuta diventare insegnate o addirittura preside.

Contrary to the extremely conservative conventional views of jihadi organizations over women’s participation in social affairs[1], the increasing trend of women’s incorporation[2] into IS is unlike any other jihadi organization in the recent history of jihadism. It is estimated that over ten percent of westerners, who made hijrah (migration) to IS territories, are female[3] while this number is much smaller and often close to none in most other jihadi organizations. This figure does not include local women and those migrated to IS territories from non-western countries, especially from the Islamic world. Therefore, an important question is how does IS reconcile its strict ultra-conservative Islamic narrative of women, with the organization’s growing incorporation of the same? Current scholarly research on women’s incorporation into IS focuses mostly on women’s motivations for joining IS. Due to security and logistical restrictions, research on the dynamics of women’s incorporation within IS’s territory and institutions has received less scholarly attention.

By analyzing primary data (including interviewing Syrian and Iraqi refugees and government and security officials) collected through fieldwork between May 2015 to December 2016 in Kurdistan of Iraq and along the Syrian borders in southern regions of Turkey and Lebanon, the author of this article argues that, through the platform of ‘gender-segregated parallel institutions,’ IS has established a mechanism by which many women are being successfully incorporated into its vision for an Islamic society. Understanding this mechanism of incorporation provides a better understanding of IS’s view on women, the gender dynamics[4] within its territory, and ultimately, the utopian society it promises.

For this article, 20 male and 30 female Syrian and Iraqi refugees were interviewed in refugee camps in Iraqi Kurdistan and in different cities of Turkey and in Beirut, Lebanon. The data collection process also included several interviews with military and security officers, local NGO members, relevant government officials, academicians, and social activists in Iraq, Turkey, and Lebanon over a course of four months from 2015 to 2016.

Immagine da Wikimedia.