Female Militancy in Islamic State Affiliates in Southeast Asia

• In Event: Terror Group Dynamics

Abstract

How does a parent terrorist organization affect the recruitment and role type of female militants in local affiliates? While female militants have been shown to fulfill either combatant or non-combatant roles within a militant organization, it remains unclear how the relationship between a parent organization and local affiliates shape these types of roles. We argue that although the presence of an external parent organization can enable a change in the overall numbers and type of roles filled by female militants, shifts in female militancy patterns are also influenced by local country and regional-level dynamics. Focusing on female militants across three countries in Southeast Asia (Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia), we explore the ways in which links to the Islamic State impact women’s roles in local IS affiliates. We explore these dynamics by employing an original dataset using open-source data of female militants who were arrested or killed between 2014 to 2019 in these three countries. Overall, we find that that the total number of women associated with militant groups who were arrested or killed in the three countries steadily increased between 2015 and 2017, and the majority of these were IS-linked women. Regionally, IS-linked women assumed fewer role types compared to non-IS linked female militants. However, unlike IS-Central women, women linked with IS affiliates in Southeast Asia tended to fill combatant roles, including as suicide bombers.

Authors

• Julia Lodoen, University of Chicago

• Amira Jadoon, U.S. Military Academy at West Point

• Charmaine N. Willis, University at Albany, SUNY

• Nakissa Puneh Jahanbani, United States Military Academy