Kenyan women and girls who joined Al-Shabaab

The direct involvement of women and girls in terrorism has attracted growing interest as the nature of recruitment tactics evolved. In Kenya, their involvement in terrorist networks, such as Al-Shabaab, is an emerging trend. Recruitment of female members is most evident in the coastal and northeastern counties of Kenya, but has also been reported in many other counties.

Women and girls have been identified as terrorist group recruiters, logistics planners, financial intermediaries, spies for terrorist activity and, in some cases, brains behind terrorist attacks or terrorist cell organizers.

Al-Shabaab, or “the youth,” emerged in the mid-2000s as an offshoot of a jihadist movement that peaked during Somalia’s civil war in the 1990s. Expelled from Mogadishu in 2006, it continues to pursue its main objective of establishing an Islamic state in Somalia by violent means. He carried out repeated deadly attacks in Somalia but also in Kenya and Uganda. Both are contributing troops to the African Union force in Somalia.

In one of my previous studies, I found that women can participate voluntarily because extremist ideology resonates with their religiously-oriented cultural values. They may also join because of the financial benefits that flow from their membership or association with the group. In addition, women can be coerced or coerced into joining by deception or intimidation.

In my most recent study, I looked at different ways in which recruitment occurs to analyze the various motivations of women and girls to join Al-Shabaab in the coastal region of Kenya. In particular, I sought to establish the “voluntary nature” of their decisions – in other words, did they register of their own accord?

I interviewed 36 women or girls who had returned home after terrorist camps or who had left the network. I generated 16 cases of women and girls who explained “volunteering” in recruiting Al-Shabaab.

The study found that the gender dynamics of submission and subordination within families and the community contribute to the recruitment of Al-Shabaab. However, there were also political and ideological motivations.

Volunteering with Al-Shabaab

But what do we mean by volunteer?

Recruitment was considered voluntary if a woman or girl – without coercion – chose to join the Al-Shabaab network. Recruitment was considered involuntary if it was done by deceptive or coercive means.

However, I must caution that voluntary and involuntary are not always mutually exclusive. I have found that depending on allegiances, social interactions, ideological resonance, and changing circumstances within and beyond the al-Shabaab network, recruits can reverse their original views.

In addition, there is a need to consider different aspects of autonomous decision making. Some women who join terrorist networks do so to assert themselves in systems of oppression and patriarchy, and to embrace the allure of emancipation within the utopian caliphate.

In my study, four main circumstances emerged as the reasons for the decisions to join Al-Shabaab.

Defend the faith

Al-Shabaab feeds off the narrative of Kenya as a Christian state oppressing Muslims in Somalia and Kenya. This resonates with the global marginalization of Muslims. Political and religious motivations emerged during our interviews, as well as the expressed desire to support or defend other Muslims.

Two women explained their motivations for being the wives of martyrs and playing their role in supporting the Muslim Ummah, or community. Nine interviewees explained how ideology influenced their decisions to support the cause of Al-Shabaab. These decisions belied Kenyan media accounts of naive girls manipulated through romantic notions of jihadist wives or wives.

Aisha, 25 at the time, an al-Shabaab returnee who defected after two years said:

I read a lot of documents. I was sad to see how Muslims were treated as a second class bunch. I didn’t want my people to suffer, I needed to do something. I wanted to help them in Somalia.

Responding to a personal crisis

The recruitment of Al-Shabaab feeds on the vengeance of individuals who regard the state as the author of the injustices suffered in their lives. A crisis event in the lives of women and girls – such as the police killing a loved one – has proven to be a significant tipping point. Some women join extremist networks to avenge the death of a husband, fiance or son at the hands of government security actors.

There is also evidence that recruiters are breaking into existing networks of aggrieved women, including relatives of fallen Al-Shabaab members. Peer influence is used to influence or coerce women to follow the parent’s cause.

Close interpersonal relationships

Daily interactions with family, friends and peers also influenced the decision to join the network in 9 of the 16 case studies. A woman’s autonomy in marital relationships may be limited in such a way as to cause her to follow the example of her husband or other influential male relatives.

The decision to join is independent if it is their choice. Nevertheless, his choice may be constrained in marital and family relationships. It happens when a woman shows undue deference to the wishes of her family members.

Ideology rubs off in the camps

Some women may have been recruited involuntarily. However, after an extended period in the terrorist camp or in association with terrorist fighters, three of the 16 people identified for this study accepted the ideology and then volunteered to join Al-Shabaab.

Mary, a Muslim convert, was recruited by a friend under the guise of a job in Somalia. She was 18 when she was recruited in 2015. In the camp, she was subjected to labor and religious indoctrination.

After a few days, I was exhausted. I was also learning religion… I kind of started to accept it. I felt it was right to fight for our [Muslim] freedom. It was like a moral obligation. I wanted to be part of the Al-Shabaab network.

Conclusion

An examination of the political and ideological motivations behind women’s membership in Al-Shabaab shows that in some cases, they make autonomous decisions based on their response to the grievances of the Muslim community.

But other structural and cultural factors are at play, such as the patriarchal settlement in families and their communities. Some women’s decision-making was consistent with subordinate attitudes and roles. These women, mostly from coastal Muslim communities, revealed that they were subject to traditional gender roles, suggesting deference to social norms.

But not all of the women who joined Al-Shabaab lived a life of subjugation before joining. Some returnees had good family life or were well settled.

Fathima Azmiya Badurdeen does not work, consult, own stock or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has not disclosed any relevant affiliation beyond his academic appointment.

By Fathima Azmiya Badurdeen, Lecturer, Department of Social Sciences, Technical University of Mombasa