Why Women Flee the West to Become Jihadi Wives

"Once, Maria Guilia was a biotechnology student at the State University in Milan. Today, she is a terrorist," according to a report in Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

With the help of Italy’s anti-terror police, reporters at the newspaper were able to verify the 28 year old’s voice and interview the jihadi wife via Skype.

"When we cut someone’s head off – I say 'we' because I am part of Islamic State (IS) – when we do something like that, we are obeying the Sharia," Sergio chillingly tells reporters.

In the interview, translated by Giles Watson, Maria admits that she encouraged her family to travel to Syria to "have a good life here in IS."

Her family was arrested by counter terrorism police before they could even leave Italy. But women like Maria Giulia Sergio are far from unique. Young girls and women now make up a substantial proportion of Westerners fleeing Europe for Iraq and Syria. 

Till Martyrdom Do Us Part

There are thought to be up to 4,000 foreign terrorist fighters who have joined IS  — including around 550 women, according to a report 'Till Martyrdom do us part: Gender and the ISIS Phenomenon' by Kings College London.

Co-author of the report Melanie Smith from the International Center for the Study of Radicalization says the report "gives a unique lens into the daily lives of foreign women living in the so-called Islamic State. Often through social media, we are able to read and hear about the complaints of daily life for females often domestically isolated in severe conditions, and the realities of living within a war zone in a terrorist held territory."

Social media accounts of the "Terror Twins" Salma and Zahra Halane, "The Australians", Tara Nettleton, Zaynab Sharrouf and Zehra Duman, "The Doctor2", Shams and the "Bethnal Green Girl2", Amira Abase have been studied by radicalization experts to try understand why Islamic State is seen as a viable alternative to life in the Western world.

The report finds that feelings of isolation, lack of identity and uncertainty of belonging within a Western culture contribute to the reason for leaving. The report suggests:

"Ultimately, these women believe that joining ISIS in Syria will secure their place in paradise, give them the opportunity to take part in the construction of a utopian society, while also providing those sensations of adventure, belonging and sisterhood."

"Female recruits are increasingly younger, some coming from socio-economically comfortable backgrounds and often having adequate, if not notably above-average, educational results and qualifications."

Hundreds of women and girls are beginning to believe life in the Islamic State is a viable alternative to their life in the West, offering them status, romance and identity which their home in Europe has failed to do.

According to Global Security Studies, "those who feel that society as a whole has the least to offer them are the most likely to join [the terrorist network]."

And there are potentially thousands of teenagers and women like Maria – or Fatima — who believe "IS is a perfect state."