The Ever-Changing Role of Women in Indonesian Extremist Networks: From Jemaah Islamiyah to ISIS

• In Event: 97. Becoming Members, Becoming Mujahidin: Understanding Indonesian Terrorism in the Age of ISIS. Sponsored by the Indonesian East Timor-Leste Studies Committee (ITLSC)

Abstract

Women have been an essential and yet the least known part of extremist networks in Indonesia. Prior research on women in Indonesian extremist networks mostly highlighted their passive and supportive roles such as in connecting Jemaah Islamiyah regional leadership through marriage and helping terrorist fugitives. The rise of Islamic State and its associated groups in Indonesia, however, has marked a new phase in which women evidently play a more significant role. Women now not only act as online propagators, they also help internationalize local networks, fund terrorist operations, and some even raise the possibility of becoming suicide bombers. This paper will look at the evolving role of women in Indonesian extremist networks and the factors that explain such changes. Central to this development is the recent involvement of radicalized Indonesian migrant workers, especially those in Hong Kong who possess the language skills, money, and international contacts that enable them to facilitate contacts between local networks and foreign fighters in Syria, Europe, and elsewhere. The research is based on interviews and observation of women-only private chat groups on Telegram.

Author

• Navhat Nuraniyah, Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict