People, not pawns: Women’s participation in violent extremism across MENA

To date, the extensive research on radicalization and recruitment has devoted scant attention to understanding women’s participation. As a result, strategies and programs that intend to counter violent extremism have naturally been oriented toward male recruits. This has led to a dearth of responses that adequately address the drivers and recruitment tactics related to female participation.To fill these gaps and strengthen the development responses to violent extremism, this report seeks to provide insights on three major questions:

1. Drivers: What are main push and pull factors for women’s participation in Violent Extremist Organisations (VEOs)?
2. Recruitment: How are VEOs tapping into women’s motivations to gain their support?
3. Responses: How can development assistance be most effective in addressing the primary drivers that motivate women to support or join VEOs?