A combination of family ties, the desire to avenge ill-treated loved
ones and economic distress is driving some young Kenyan women into the
arms of Somali terrorist group Al Shabaab. PHOTO | FILE
A combination of family ties, the desire to avenge ill-treated
loved ones and economic distress is driving some young Kenyan women into
the arms of Somali terrorist group Al Shabaab.
Once
recruited, the women play various roles in the violent extremist group
as recruiters, spies, cooks and cleaners, according to a report by the
Institute for Security Studies in Africa.
Researchers
interviewed 108 women from communities in Nairobi, Mombasa, Garissa,
Diani, Kwale and Kisumu, which have been affected by violent extremism.
They
also spoke to women who had returned from Al-Shabaab camps, civil
society and community leaders and organisers, as well as government
officials and donors.
Responses from the study, “Violent Extremism in Kenya: Why women are a priority”,
provide an expansive view of women beyond being mere victims of violent
extremism. Even though the full extent of women’s involvement in
violent extremism remains unknown, researchers Irene Ndung’u and Uyo
Salifu found that women were more actively involved in non-combative or
indirect roles than in direct ones.
The indirect roles women play appear to be more prominent than direct participation as perpetrators of violent extremist acts.
Globally, women are trapped into violent extremism and terrorism
by strong relationship ties based on family, kinship and romance. They
may also be driven by grievances regarding their economic and
socio-political circumstances and a commitment to and/or the oppression
of certain religious or ideological beliefs.
The
interplay between these drivers, which create the dynamics for women’s
involvement in violent extremism, is also reflected in the study’s
findings. However, the report had remained embargoed for a year because
of the sensitivity about releasing information regarding terrorism.
Intelligence wing
Ms
Salifu, a researcher in the ISS transnational threats and international
crime programme, said: “The heightened sensitivity around terrorism in
Kenya and the nature of the security situation at the time gave rise to
the delay in the report’s release.”
Women’s involvement in violent extremism remains deeply nuanced and defies generalisation, according to the report.
Women
have reportedly travelled to Somalia to join Al Shabaab, or have been
recruiting for the group, masterminding terrorist attacks in Mombasa,
forming terror cells, and channelling information and finances for
terrorist organisations.
Government officials in
Garissa and Diani told researchers, however, that in their experience,
perpetrators were often male, and aged between 16 and 25 years and that
no women had been convicted on terror-related charges.
So
far only four women – three Kenyans and a Tanzanian – have been charged
in connection with terrorism. Maryam Said Aboud and Khadija Abdulkadir
Abubakar from Malindi, Ummul Khayr Sadir Abdalla from Tanzania and
Halima Adan Ali of Mombasa were charged with 19 terror charges,
including being members of Al-Shabaab and conspiracy to commit terrorism
in Kenya. Another five have been charged with aiding terrorists or
concealing information about them.
Although none of the
respondents for the study conducted in 2016 had first-hand knowledge of
women who had carried out acts of terrorism, government officials told
researchers that many girls had gone to Somalia, where some had been
trained as suicide bombers and that one had been arrested on
terror-related charges, while the others had some involvement in
attacks.
Extremist groupings are increasingly targeting
women and children as these might not come under the scrutiny of
security agencies as attackers.
Secrecy
around cultural and religious norms has likely made women fearful of
speaking out even when attempts are made to recruit them. Some women are
reluctant to speak publicly and prefer to have men speak for them.
Also,
those who take part in violent extremism fear exposure by government
officials, reprisals from Al Shabaab or being stigmatised by their
communities should they confess their involvement or speak about their
experiences.
Government officials claim that women play
operational roles, gathering intelligence and spying for Al Shabaab.
The women are reportedly ‘used to collect information [and for]
surveillance because they are viewed with less suspicion’ and ‘pass this
information on to others’. One official claimed that “women are part of
Amniyat, the intelligence wing of Al-Shabaab”.
Speaking
in focus groups, women revealed that some of them used their positions
as wives, sisters and mothers to recruit for violent extremist
organisations.
Kinship
In
Nairobi’s Majengo area, a female recruiter was reportedly well known
for inducing young men in particular to join Al-Shabaab with the promise
of jobs.
“It may well be that women’s involvement as
violent actors is kept hidden,” the researchers say, but they cite
prevalent socio-cultural and religious norms that limit the roles women
play in extremist organisations. Kenya and Somalia are male-dominated
societies where women traditionally play the role of nurturers and
peacemakers, preferably within a domestic context.
Female
recruiters continue to be viewed through the patriarchal lenses of two
female stereotypes: mother and temptress. Those recruiting outside the
home, such as in the refugee camps, were seen as temptresses ‘luring’
young men with false promises.
Inside violent extremist
groups, women play various supporting roles for the fighting men. They
could provide shelter and hide terrorists or family members involved
with the groups; or take food to family members arrested on
terror-related charges.
Others facilitate financial
transactions to fund extremists, provide medical care in refugee camps
for injured fighters, cook and clean in training camps, and radicalise
their own children.
Providing ‘company’ or ‘comfort’ to
the terrorists, usually through marriage among the networks of
extremists’ own relatives and friends, is another unremarked role women
play.
Invisibility
The
picture of women’s involvement in violent extremism as enablers and
sympathisers is complex, as aptly summarised by an Anti-Terror Police
Unit officer quoted in the report: “Some women are caught between a rock
and a hard place. They are the caregivers to the terrorist and play a
supportive role; they are facilitators because they are least
suspected,” said a police officer.
Also, fear [of
security agencies] discourages women from disclosing information,
especially where police are deemed to be corrupt and extortionist.
Returnees interviewed for the ISS study did not appear to be inspired by ideological or religious factors in joining Al Shabaab.
Aside
from finding work, following partners and husbands to Somalia was a
leading motivator for many women. One reported that her brother’s widow
went to Somalia with their daughter to visit his grave a while back.
They have not returned since.
Women’s participation in
extremism remains hidden from policy view, with official interventions
targeting visible young males. Some of the women revealed in the focus
group discussions that their partners are members of Al Shabaab in
Somalia, and explained that girls entering unions with such men risk
being radicalised.
Interviewees spoke of women being
blackmailed, intimidated or kidnapped by people known to them to join Al
Shabaab. One returnee said her husband’s friends forced her to join him
when he left six months after they married.
Poor education
A
poor educational background may also play a factor as s senior
counter-terrorism official noted that most of the girls recruited to
join Al Shabaab through personal relationships have only have a primary
school education. However, this does not exclude recruitment of the more
educated.
Others choose to join their loved ones in
Somalia as testified by a woman from Kwale who said that her 34-year-old
female cousin was radicalised by her husband and followed him to
Somalia, where she has also joined Al-Shabaab.
Extra-judicial killings
Revenge
for the ill-treatment of loved ones at the hands of security agents was
noted as a key factor in influencing women to become involved in
extremism.
Interviewees cited experiences including the
extra-judicial killing of their husbands and children, media profiling
of Islam, police brutality and the disappearance of innocent people,
allegedly at the hands of security agents, turning them away from formal
state securitisation activities.
One woman, who said
she was not aware of the government amnesty programme for those
returning from terrorist training in Somalia, is sceptical of state
efforts to counter violent extremism: “I believe my religion is under
threat because those who are guilty of terrorism and the innocent are
treated in the same manner by the authorities.”
High unemployment
Another
said that her 24-year-old daughter received $170 (Ksh17,000) to join
the extremists, instead of the $260 (Ksh26,000) promised. She was
ferried to Oman, where the her recruiters demanded $400 (Ksh40,000)
ransom for her release.
Al-Shabaab has capitalised on
the high unemployment levels in the coastal region to lure youth with
promises of jobs, money and other livelihood opportunities.
“Poverty
is pushing people into embracing Al-Shabaab. If one is earning $30
(Ksh3,000) but is promised $260 (Ksh26,000), that is a lot of money and
the person will choose to join Al Shabaab,” one woman added.
An informant —
with the pseudonym Khadija — was interviewed over the telephone for this
study. She was in hiding, fearing for her safety at the hands of the
police and fellow returnees.
Men who join Al-Shabaab
often leave their homes and families without breadwinners. Women step in
as heads of households, but the burden of providing for their immediate
(and often extended) families is exacerbated by the lack of a regular
income, and many find themselves trapped in a cycle of poverty.
Citizenship rights
The
denial of citizenship rights was mentioned as a factor that could drive
women to radicalisation. Two women in Lamu reported that their sons
were denied national identity documents because they look Somali.
The lack of this document has major implications for travel and access to higher education opportunities.
Most
of those interviewed for the ISS study had only a primary school
education. They added that perceived injustices against Muslims, as well
as media profiling, had created a feeling of being ‘under attack’
within the community, especially among husbands and sons.
“Islam is not terrorism but a religion that has been misused to carry out terror attacks,” said an unnamed interviewee.
Returnees speak out
22-YEAR-OLD FROM LIKONI:
“I was married to my first husband for six months before he left for
Somalia. I do not know if he is still alive. I was 18 years old when I
went to Somalia. I remember finding myself in a forest after getting
into a car with my husband’s friends, who harassed, intimidated and
forced me to go and join him, although I never found my husband at the
camp. The living conditions at the camp were terrible; we were treated
like slaves and ate only once a day.”
“We were verbally and physically abused. I did not get married to any of the group’s members but they would use us for sexual purposes. We were given contraception so that we did not conceive. I fled when I got the chance and to take advantage of the Kenya government’s amnesty.”
“We were verbally and physically abused. I did not get married to any of the group’s members but they would use us for sexual purposes. We were given contraception so that we did not conceive. I fled when I got the chance and to take advantage of the Kenya government’s amnesty.”
24-YEAR OLD INTERVIEWEE:
“Poverty is pushing people into embracing Al-Shabaab. If one is earning
$30 (Ksh3,000) but is promised $260 (Ksh26,000), that is a lot of money
and the person will choose to join Al Shabaab...”
“I
was born in Garissa and became involved when I was 20 years old. I went
to college and high school. I joined with Al Shabaab because I was
jobless and needed a job. A friend took me to Mombasa where we stayed
for some days before we hopped onto a bus and were given a drink (which
must have been laced with a drug), after which I found myself in
Burabe.”
“We were about 40 girls in a camp and all of us were Kenyan,” she says.
“I
received religious, weapons and combat training, as well as suicide
bombing. I was a virgin when I arrived and after receiving basic
training, I declined sexual advances by a fighter. I stabbed him to
death and because of this incident, I was made commander in charge of
the women because they saw I could fight,” she adds.
“I
returned to Garissa through Doble where she sold the gun for money to
buy passage back to Kenya because of the amnesty programme, but did not
enroll in it fearing how the government would treat me. The reaction
from my family was also disheartening and I currently live with friends.
But it has been difficult because I am jobless.”
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