Who can prevent British women joining Isis? Those who have returned

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jan/14/prevent-british-women-isis-syria-met-police

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In 2015, 56 women and girls are believed to have left the UK for Syria to join Isis. Over the course of the past year, we have seen 15-year-old schoolfriends, mothers of four and committed wives all turning their backs on Britain to travel to an active warzone under the control of a terrorist organisation. It has, of course, also been a year of frantic questioning: why? How? What now?

These British females – including Londoners, Glaswegians, Bradfordians and Mancunians – often chose to give up doting families, careers and first-class educations in pursuit of a life that will likely entail watching routine public killings, marriage to any fighter deemed fit for them, and living in constant fear of death from airstrikes. For the overwhelming majority of people, the decision these women are making – to put themselves and their children in such danger – seems utterly incomprehensible.

As a nation, we have become captivated by the British poster girls of this movement. What is causing these young women to make such a terrible decision with such high stakes consequences? Is it a troublesome, radical older brother? An Isis fanboy charming and grooming them over Skype?

In the media, the motivations of western female Isis members are often simplified, reducing them to the stereotype of the naive, misled “jihadi brides”. This simplification fails to attribute true agency to their actions. Having monitored a large number of these women on social media platforms on a frequent basis since March 2014, it is evident that these simplifications are wrong. The motivations of female recruits to Isis are numerous, nuanced and, unfortunately, not easily remedied.

Related: The story of a radicalisation: 'I was not thinking my thoughts. I was not myself'

Gleaned from thousands of pages of social media content, the major pull factors for female jihadis to travel to these warzones appear to be the following: a sense of religious duty and state-building; the promise of belonging to a “sisterhood”; and the romanticisation of an independent adventure. It is often a combination of these lures, in addition to feelings of social isolation and being subjected to Islamophobia, that weigh in differing significance for each individual.

The western female members of Isis in Syria play a key role in encouraging new recruits through social media. But despite projecting a positive image of life under Isis, the horrifying reality of their situation inevitably surfaces online. Disguised among the justifications of their decision are stories of western women miscarrying on the floor of hospitals after miscommunication with Syrian doctors, of mourning and missing husbands killed in battle, and of children crying at the sound of bomber planes overhead. All this offers a glimpse into just how dangerous conditions are for these women. They can also help us to stop further recruitment by undermining the utopian ideal that Isis peddles.

In a commendable effort to do just that, the Met police’s counter-terrorism command released a video campaign this week featuring three Syrian mothers who have fled their home country as refugees. Following a short introduction by deputy assistant commissioner Helen Ball, the women issue emotional warnings to mothers who may want to take their children to Isis-held territory, and mothers who think their daughters may be at risk of doing so.

Speaking of the conditions in Syria, the women urge others to consider what they would be leaving behind in Britain: the safety of themselves and their families; access to healthcare and education. This is one of the first examples we have seen of a campaign focused specifically on tackling the migration of British women to join Isis, and it represents a positive step in the right direction.

We need to build on this by developing hard-hitting social media campaigns addressing the issue of female radicalisation, offering alternatives to the appeal of Isis, and emphasising how difficult it is to reverse the decision to join. The messenger is critical here. While the accounts of the three Syrian women are emotive, stories of others who have joined Isis and later escaped have credibility with those who are thinking of going too. Many returnees want to tell their stories. It’s time we let them.