‘Till Martyrdom Do Us Part’

The report challenges the 'jihadi bride' stereotype, arguing that Western women migrate to ISIS due to a complex mix of push factors (social isolation, perceived persecution of Muslims) and pull factors (religious duty, sisterhood, and romanticised adventure). While their primary roles are domestic, some women engage in propaganda and professional services. The document analyses de-radicalisation models in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and the UK, concluding that there is a critical shortage of female mentors and gender-nuanced counter-narratives to effectively address this threat.

• Western women migrating to ISIS exhibit significant diversity in age, location, ethnicity, family relations, and religious background, making it impossible to create a single 'at risk' profile.
• The motivation for women to join ISIS is multi-causal, and the label 'jihadi bride' is a reductionist and incorrect description of their reasons for travel.
• Primary push factors for radicalisation include social and cultural isolation in Western societies, a belief that the global Muslim community is being persecuted, and frustration over international inaction regarding this persecution.
• Key pull factors include the desire to fulfill a religious duty by building a utopian 'Caliphate', the search for a sense of sisterhood and belonging, and the romanticisation of the journey and marriage.
• While the primary role of women in ISIS territory is to be wives and mothers to the next generation of jihadists, they also perform critical roles in online recruitment and propaganda dissemination.
• The actual conditions of life in ISIS territory—including failing infrastructure, lack of clean water, and domestic isolation—contradict the utopian propaganda and can serve as powerful counter-narratives.
• There is a critical lack of gender-specific infrastructure in de-radicalisation programmes, specifically a shortage of female mentors and a lack of understanding regarding gender dynamics.
• The UK's Channel programme utilizes a multi-agency approach to identify and support vulnerable individuals, but it suffers from an inconsistent workload for mentors and a lack of formal psychological training.
• Denmark's 'Aarhus model' focuses on social inclusion and reintegration rather than legal prosecution, which has contributed to a decrease in young men from Aarhus leaving for Syria.

APA

saltman, E. M., & smith, M. (2015). ‘Till Martyrdom Do Us Part’. Institute for Strategic Dialogue. https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Till_Martyrdom_Do_Us_Part_Gender_and_the_ISIS_Phenomenon.pdf

Chicago

saltman, erin marie, and melanie smith. ‘Till Martyrdom Do Us Part’. Institute for Strategic Dialogue, 2015. https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Till_Martyrdom_Do_Us_Part_Gender_and_the_ISIS_Phenomenon.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=saltman |first1=erin marie |last2=smith |first2=melanie |title=‘Till Martyrdom Do Us Part’ |publisher=Institute for Strategic Dialogue |date=2015 |url=https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Till_Martyrdom_Do_Us_Part_Gender_and_the_ISIS_Phenomenon.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{saltman2015till, author = {saltman, erin marie and smith, melanie}, title = {{‘Till Martyrdom Do Us Part’}}, institution = {Institute for Strategic Dialogue}, year = {2015}, url = {https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Till_Martyrdom_Do_Us_Part_Gender_and_the_ISIS_Phenomenon.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }