Women Who Don’t Want To Be Saved: A Gendered Analysis Of “Acceptable” vs. “Unacceptable” Female Violence

Resumen

(Abstract)

The voluntary departure of hundreds of young women, born and socialised in Europe, to Daeshcontrolled territories has raised many legitimate questions. Why do women choose to adhere to ideologies that appear to disempower them? Can they really embrace such patriarchal violence? Women have traditionally been seen as the victims of violence, particularly Islamic terrorist violence, often thought of as a male prerogative. Even years after Daesh’s defeat on the ground, the ambiguity of female violence remains a compelling issue, particularly when faced with social and legal challenges posed by female returnées. To offer a gendered analysis of women in/with violent ideologies and address their agency this paper will analyse representations of “acceptable”and “unacceptable” forms of female violence by focusing on the intersection between femininity, vulnerability, empowerment, sexuality and violence.