A significant challenge for religion today is its manipulation in the hands of radical extremists. To be sure, this has had its share of historical antecedents across all religions. However, today Islam, in particular, is being hijacked by extremist groups who undermine its theological grounding in peace and human dignity to justify their own nefarious ends. The subjugation of women is a central tenet of their strategy, justified in the name of Allah.
Religion predicated on a patriarchal foundation has often been used to limit women’s rights. Similarly, scriptural interpretation has been used to legitimize discriminatory practices. So too, the systematic devaluation of women’s roles within religious institutions has often led to their exclusion from leadership positions, reducing their influence and disempowering them as decision-makers in their communities. In its most prevalent form, efforts to advance women through the full realization of their human rights have been pushed back as inimical to “religious values.”
Extremist groups like Boko Haram, the Taliban, and others like them go even further. They are hijacking Islam and using it as a justification of unspeakable violence against women and girls. The abuses they perpetrate, from sexual slavery to mass rapes, from forced illiteracy to denying freedom of movement, are being used strategically as a weapon of war and being justified in the name of religion sanctioned by references to the Qur’an based upon their radical interpretations.
The sexual subjugation of women and girls is an effective tactic for the extremists because it destabilizes communities, disrupts families, stigmatizes women, and produces psychological scars long after fighting ends. ISIS, for example, uses sexual violence as a cheap and effective tool, central to their mission of re-establishing the Islamic caliphate. To establish and extend this new caliphate, territory is captured and held and bureaucratic governing structures enforce their corrupted version of Islamic law. The lure of sex slavery helps to recruit foreign fighters while rape is employed as a bonding experience to build camaraderie among the men.
Under international law, sexual violence in conflict—such as the mass rapes committed in Bosnia in the mid-1990s—has been recognized as a war crime, a crime against humanity, and, in certain situations, tantamount to ethnic cleansing.
In 2000, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 linking women to peace and security. 1325 recognized the unique and disproportionate burdens faced by women in wartime, the need to protect them, and the importance of their participation in conflict prevention, resolution, and post-conflict reconstruction. Since then several augmenting resolutions have been adopted condemning sexual violence and calling for accountability and an end to impunity, as well as underscoring the crucial role that women can and must play in decision-making and peacebuilding. The most recent resolution adopted in 2015 by the Security Council, Resolution 2242, specifically included countering violent extremism as part of the women, peace, and security mandate.
What is happening to women deserves a far greater response both in terms of counter terrorism strategy, engaging women in countering violent extremism and galvanizing the religious community, particularly leaders in Islam, to do more.
Women’s organizations at the grassroots level are working to empower women as agents of positive change, including in some of the most conservative communities.
Women are leveraging their identities as family members and community members to deter the rise of extremism and to foster tolerance. For these reasons strategies to counter violent extremism need to ensure the promotion of women’s rights and support the role of women’s organizations. All too often, well-meaning, strict anti-terrorism financing rules exclude civil society groups, including women’s organizations. A single-minded approach to countering violent extremism through hard security measures alone—as essential as they are—has often meant that investments in areas women know are critical—from economic opportunity to community support—can be shortchanged or ignored. The price for this can be significant, risking the possibility of greater radicalization.
We also know that women are recruited to be perpetrators of violent extremism as soldiers, planners, logistics handlers, and recruiters. Sometimes their role is voluntary; sometimes it is coerced; sometimes they are being duped into believing that they are furthering a higher purpose such as building a new caliphate. What pushes such women into radicalization? What attracts them? We need to enhance the tools and means to detect, prevent and respond to women who are sympathetic to terrorism. We need to close our knowledge gap through practically relevant research and analysis, and we need to share lessons learned.
The UN Security Council and other key international actors need to focus on the roles and experiences of women in relation to countering violent extremism in a more concerted way. Gender needs to be mainstreamed into CVE (Countering Violent Extremism) deliberations as well as in critical areas, from the security sector and policing to development.
The religious community has an important role to play. Religious leaders, including moderate Muslim clerics, need to step forward and condemn the distortion of religion that the radical Islamist groups represent. Many such progressive imams and public intellectuals have done this, but their voices are not always heard in decisionmaking, and their message of peace and tolerance is not always carried by mainstream media. Religious leaders in every community should use their authority and voice to reject extremism and to end the stigma and ostracization of those who are victims of sexual violence.
Muslim women who are on the frontlines of change in championing the rights of women and living out their faith need support in contending with the radical interpretations of their faith that force them to be viewed as unfaithful. Networks need to be forged to train women and arm them with the religious education and arguments they need to push back on radical interpretations that are used against them in the name of Islam. They are often struggling in very conservative societies where reform can only occur when rooted in a religious context.
To effectively counter violent extremism requires recognizing its consequences on the subjugation of women and girls and their universal human rights. At the same time, women have a crucial role to play in prevention and in participating in response strategies. A comprehensive, coordinated, multi-sectoral approach—one that engages not only governments and military forces, but also religious leaders, community groups, and women’s organizations—is required. Moreover, a focus on human rights, development, and a commitment to gender equality must be integral to this approach. Nothing less will serve to counter violent extremism and the threat it represents.
