Jihadi recruitment of women in Spain… A shocking analytical study

In April 2017, under the title «The   jihadist recruitment of women in Spain between 2014 and 2016»,  the   Royal Spanish Institute «Elkano» published analytical study by Carola Garcia Calvo, a researcher in the Department of Global Terrorism in the institute.

Calvo answered in her study – in an analytical way – many of the questions related to the Spanish women who were recruited by Daesh organization.

The Royal Elkano Institute is one of the most prestigious and leading think tanks in Spain. It is founded in 2001 under the auspices of the former King of Spain, Juan Carlos I. The Institute pays particular attention to issues related to terrorism and militant groups.

The study was based on the Spanish women who were recruited to join “Daesh”. How was their recruitment? What are their motivations to join such terrorist organizations?

The study relied on accurate information provided by the Spanish authorities to the researcher, about a group of 23 women, were arrested as part of the security campaigns launched by the Spanish authorities against individuals and groups on charges of joining the Daesh.

Carola Garcia Calvo attended their own trial sessions and conducted detailed interviews with the investigators who interrogated the accused women.

In her study, the researcher described how jihadist groups began to target women in Spain, as part of the recruitment campaign linked to the conflict in Iraq and Syria.

The spread and promotion of extremist ideology was also generated by people born in Spain, not immigrants from the Middle East, as was the case in the 1970s.

Despite the different patterns of militancy pursued by these women, they share the same goals with their fellow male militants, primarily the pursuit of the alleged Islamic caliphate.

The study stressed that when analysts and researchers meet to discuss terrorism, they must study in depth the developments that have taken place in terrorist recruitment operations and how the terrorist organizations attract young sympathizers.

By the summer of 2014, the world known  “Daesh” after announcing the establishment of the so-called “Islamic Caliphate State in Iraq and Syria”.

This was the most dramatic turning point in the evolution of the global jihad movement, which was characterized by competition for influence between “Daesh” and “Al-Qaeda” organizations.

In the first speech of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of «Daesh», from the city of «Mosul» in Iraqi, called for «migration to the Caliphate».

Daesh achieved military gains on the ground, prompting thousands of young men and women around the world to travel and live in areas controlled by the organization.

No terrorist movement, before Daesh, has succeeded in attracting so many young people, especially from Western European countries.

The number of those who joined terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq, of European origins, is estimated at more than 5,000.

In Spain, there are an estimated 208 people who have traveled since 2013 (10% of them women) and 23 women who have been detained by the Spanish authorities for their involvement in activities associated with “Daesh”.

In September 2016, French authorities arrested three militant women in Paris, who later said they were plotting acts of violence.

The rise of the female role:

Although it is difficult to create a profile for each woman individually, a question arose about the future role of them in Spain, especially after the terrorist organization lost most of the areas it controls. This can be done in the context of the future of the rise of the women’s role in these organizations, whether through the participation of women in the planning of terrorist operations or the advent of terrorist operations themselves.

As the global jihad movement continues to evolve, there is an urgent need for gender in analyzing the movements of terrorist organizations.

Girls without family responsibility:

The first feature observed by the researcher in her study is the age gap between males and females. In various security campaigns between 2014 and 2016, the average age of men arrested was 30 years, and the average age of women was 24 years; 73.3 per cent were between 19 and 28 years of age. The proportion of those arrested between the ages of 19 and 23 was 47 per cent, the girls are 14 years old, while the oldest is 52 years old.

The social status of the detainees was a major factor, with 45% of them unmarried, 16.6% of the men arrested. 55% of the men had children, while the majority of women did not have children (65%).

Recruitment strategy:

The recruiting strategy adopted by Spain’s Daesh organization is to recruit girls and women without family responsibilities. Daesh also investigates women who can be married to members of the organization and have children to live in areas controlled by the organization.

The thing that ensures a constant population presence in these areas. As well as, providing human resources for the organization of a new generation of terrorists, who have been raised in areas controlled by the organization since their birth.

Spanish accounted for 60.9 per cent, more than half of whom were born in Spanish areas, 56.5 per cent, 34.8 per cent Moroccan, 13 per cent without cultural or social backgrounds related to Islam or militant groups, and women at one point change their faith and belief.

Women arrested were better educated than men, with 87.5 per cent of women completing secondary school, compared to 25.7 per cent of men. Women who went to universities were 6.3 per cent more than men.

The proportion of unemployed women was 33.3 per cent, higher than the 10 per cent unemployed, and there was no previous criminal record of all the women arrested.

Recruiting through internet:

The women who were arrested and went to the courts for their participation in activities related to the organization «Daesh» between 2014 and 2016.

Eight out of every 10 women were drifting into radical ideology through direct contact and interviews with individuals.

While 55.6 per cent are more radicalized by entering the media platforms of the terrorist organization on social networking sites.

The Internet enabled women to access jihadist propaganda. Social networking was the main platform with 93.3 per cent and mobile messaging applications at 80 per cent.

One of the factors influencing this process is those with “charisma”. Some 66.7% of women said they were fascinated by personalities who communicated with them through various social networking sites.

There is a case of a woman who said she was influenced by the character of a fighter in the organization of “Daesh”, which he and his sister were trying to attract her to the organization. At an advanced stage, this woman was in a relationship with another fighter, eventually ending up being the fiance of a military commander of a battalion of these terrorists.

Jihadi recruitment .. Motivation, temptations and negation of will:

The study focused on the motivations and temptations that led women to join the organization. The emotional motivation with the religious influence was the biggest incentive.

The percentage of women mentioned was 61.5 percent, and the incentives promised was to get married to a fighter of the organization.

 Despite the remarkable discrepancy in statistical figures between men and women arrested in Spain, whether in motives for membership in terrorist organization, demographics or social status, it is certain that the organization’s targeting of female elements from Spain was within a broader framework of organization.