Silent Power: The Role of Women in Criminal Clans

• In Event: Criminal Clans: Identity, Gender, and Policy Challenges

Abstract

Women play a crucial yet often overlooked role in the structures of criminal clans, particularly within patriarchal systems where traditional gender norms shape both their involvement and limitations. While men dominate leadership and enforcement roles, women act as the backbone of these networks, contributing to their financial, cultural, and operational sustainability. This presentation examines the duality of women’s roles—both as enforcers of tradition and as active participants in illicit activities such as money laundering, fraud, and logistical coordination. It explores how women engage in ‘patriarchal bargaining,’ leveraging their positions within family structures to exert influence while simultaneously reinforcing clan cohesion. Furthermore, the discussion highlights how women are constrained by rigid expectations of loyalty, honor, and familial duty, often becoming both enablers of and victims within these criminal systems. By analyzing case studies, including Arab-origin criminal clans in Germany, this presentation sheds light on the intersection of gender, crime, and power, offering a nuanced perspective on women’s agency, complicity, and marginalization within organized crime. The findings underscore the need for targeted interventions that address the socio-cultural mechanisms trapping women within these systems while exploring pathways for empowerment and disengagement.

Author

• Mahmoud Jaraba, FAU Research Centre for Islam and Law in Europe (FAU EZIRE)