Edited by: Audrey Alexander

Contributors by: jacob Davey, Julia Ebner, Vese Kelemendi, Sara Mahmood, Devorah

Mrgolin

About the Program on Extremism

The Program on Extremism at George Washington University provides analysis on issues related

to violent and non-violent extremism. The Program spearheads innovative and thoughtful

academic inquiry, producing empirical work that strengthens extremism research as a distinct

field of study. The Program aims to develop pragmatic policy solutions that resonate with

policymakers, civic leaders, and the general public.

Please note that the views expressed in the chapters of this publication are the opinions of the

authors, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Program on Extremism or the George

Washington University.

Policymakers, practitioners, and scholars are increasingly aware of women’s participation in terrorist and violent extremist groups; this affects how members of the international community attempt to mitigate risks tied to these threats. Growing concerns about women’s interactions with groups like the Islamic State (IS) and Boko Haram appear to have instigated this shift, despite a long and dynamic history of women’s participation in terrorism, violent extremism, and insurgencies around the world. Although the intersection of women, gender, and terrorism recently became a higher priority to stakeholders tasked with addressing these threats, international organizations, governments, and civil society groups are still grappling with what it means to pursue this multifaceted agenda. This paper series adds to a small but growing body of research on the topic and highlights some considerations regarding the future of women, gender, and violent extremism.

Before exploring how matters concerning women, gender, and violent extremism intermingle, it is essential to contextualize terminology and to situate this series within the broader discussion of conflict and security. A wide range of analyses examines how sex and gender intersect with political violence and peace. Terrorism, violent extremism, and responses to these challenges represent a small segment of the broader conversation. In the discussion that follows, gender pertains to “how women, men, and nonbinary persons act according to feminine, masculine, or fluid expectations of men and women.” Since factors such as culture, personal preference, and time shape conceptions of gender, it is dynamic and highly context-specific. To complicate matters more, “terrorism,” “violent extremism,” and “extremism,” as well as the policies made to address them, are prone to semantic ambiguity. Instead of attempting to pin down elusive terminology, this series embraces the imprecision of these terms to allow the editor and contributors to pull from a more extensive body of research and present a range of perspectives. While imperfect, the priority of this series is to confront the countless ways gender weaves into these challenges and vice-versa.