Good Girl, Wife or Foreign Fighter - Danish Media Constructions of women in ISIS
(2022) SOCM04 20221Department of Sociology
Sociology
- Abstract
- Women who have joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, ISIS, have been understood as serving passive and largely supportive roles in ISIS state-building by media and, to a far extent, academia. Academia has argued that the passive role evolves into active participation in weaponed combat and planning of attacks. This paper investigates the Danish Newspaper’s constructions of Danish women involved with ISIS as developing from a local problem concerning marginalized young Muslim women to a widespread social problem about ‘terrorism’. Furthermore, this paper investigates how these constructions are used in the public debate to argue for or against their repatriation to Denmark.
This paper argues that three overall narratives are used... (More) - Women who have joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, ISIS, have been understood as serving passive and largely supportive roles in ISIS state-building by media and, to a far extent, academia. Academia has argued that the passive role evolves into active participation in weaponed combat and planning of attacks. This paper investigates the Danish Newspaper’s constructions of Danish women involved with ISIS as developing from a local problem concerning marginalized young Muslim women to a widespread social problem about ‘terrorism’. Furthermore, this paper investigates how these constructions are used in the public debate to argue for or against their repatriation to Denmark.
This paper argues that three overall narratives are used in the construction of Danish women who have joined ISIS. Firstly, the passive ‘ISIS-bride’ narrative, the passive ‘ISIS-wife’ narrative, and the dangerous ‘foreign fighter’ narrative. These narratives depend on master narratives deep-seated in Danish culture and have a lasting impact beyond this case. Furthermore, this paper argues that women joining ISIS should not only be understood as a change in ISIS-state building practices, as this position has largely disregarded the women’s own voices and motivation for ISIS participation. Women’s role should likewise be understood as a change in media, public and political understanding of women’s participation in Violent, Militant Islamist organizations, such as ISIS. (Less) - Popular Abstract
- While the participation of men in terror organizations, such as ISIS, has been thoroughly studied in academia and written about by news media worldwide, the participation of women is usually understood as naïve and innocent brides and wives to dangerous and violent men. Several scholars and media have argued that the role of women in ISIS has changed from being solely a mother and a wife to more active participation in the planning of attacks and armed combat. This paper investigates how Danish national newspapers speak about and construct Danish women who are believed to have joined ISIS. In addition, this paper examines how the media stories and constructions influence the public for and against the repatriation of these women to... (More)
- While the participation of men in terror organizations, such as ISIS, has been thoroughly studied in academia and written about by news media worldwide, the participation of women is usually understood as naïve and innocent brides and wives to dangerous and violent men. Several scholars and media have argued that the role of women in ISIS has changed from being solely a mother and a wife to more active participation in the planning of attacks and armed combat. This paper investigates how Danish national newspapers speak about and construct Danish women who are believed to have joined ISIS. In addition, this paper examines how the media stories and constructions influence the public for and against the repatriation of these women to Denmark.
This paper establishes the presence of three main narratives in the Danish national newspapers regarding the Danish women who are believed to have joined ISIS. Firstly, an ISIS-bride narrative, which is a story about a well-integrated, naïve girl who fell into the arms of a dangerous man. Secondly, the ISIS bride becomes a wife understood as a woman with little to no active participation in the violence of ISIS. Lastly, the stories about the women change as the political and media debate about the women begins to understand them as foreign fighters – a title previously predominantly used about men in ISIS. This paper further argues that understanding the change from passive ISIS bride and Wife in search of husbands to foreign fighters as a ‘policy change’ in ISIS state building is an oversimplification. While marriage and Motherhood are indeed highlighted roles, this paper argues that the change from ISIS bride to foreign fighter should be understood as a change in how the women are understood by media and politicians, rather than a change in the women’s role and motivations for joining ISIS. Lastly, this thesis argues that the narratives about the women rely on deeply seated cultural understandings about womanhood, being a Danish Muslim and Danish citizen. These understandings enable several law changes regarding the Danish penal code and citizenship law, which reach beyond this case. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9098431
- author
- Gissel, Camilla LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SOCM04 20221
- year
- 2022
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- ISIS, Female foreign fighters, Social Problems Theory, Narrative Criminology, ISIS bride, Betrayal
- language
- English
- id
- 9098431
- date added to LUP
- 2022-08-29 19:00:17
- date last changed
- 2022-08-29 19:00:17
@misc{9098431,
abstract = {{Women who have joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, ISIS, have been understood as serving passive and largely supportive roles in ISIS state-building by media and, to a far extent, academia. Academia has argued that the passive role evolves into active participation in weaponed combat and planning of attacks. This paper investigates the Danish Newspaper’s constructions of Danish women involved with ISIS as developing from a local problem concerning marginalized young Muslim women to a widespread social problem about ‘terrorism’. Furthermore, this paper investigates how these constructions are used in the public debate to argue for or against their repatriation to Denmark.
This paper argues that three overall narratives are used in the construction of Danish women who have joined ISIS. Firstly, the passive ‘ISIS-bride’ narrative, the passive ‘ISIS-wife’ narrative, and the dangerous ‘foreign fighter’ narrative. These narratives depend on master narratives deep-seated in Danish culture and have a lasting impact beyond this case. Furthermore, this paper argues that women joining ISIS should not only be understood as a change in ISIS-state building practices, as this position has largely disregarded the women’s own voices and motivation for ISIS participation. Women’s role should likewise be understood as a change in media, public and political understanding of women’s participation in Violent, Militant Islamist organizations, such as ISIS.}},
author = {{Gissel, Camilla}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Good Girl, Wife or Foreign Fighter - Danish Media Constructions of women in ISIS}},
year = {{2022}},
}