Women's misery: how do women end up in radical groups?

The problem of religious extremism and terrorism has existed for many decades, but in recent years it has become particularly acute, as the number of supporters of non-traditional religious movements and sects has sharply increased. In particular, the number of women involved in destructive cults among the female half of humanity has increased. Unrealized need for significance, suicidal tendencies, shifting responsibilities, reducing the value of human life, social isolation and alienation-all this pushes a woman into the open hands of recruiters. The catalyst is an acute experience of failure, which leads to the blame of society. The feeling of losing life prospects, goals, coupled with high aggression, the search for strong feelings – all this only plays into the hands of terrorist organizations. What are the factors of women's involvement in radical groups? 1. Existing conditions in the family, loss of loved ones. 2. Guilt for the loss of women's honor before the family and society. 3. Loneliness, inferiority complex. 4. Lack of demand, lack of self-realization and significant status, neglect on the part of others, the desire for self-affirmation and manifestation of their significance. 5. Indecision, inability to make decisions independently. 6. Isolation from external positive social connections and the influence of a positive social environment. 7. Aggressiveness (this leads to much more severe consequences than in men), egocentrism, the desire for violence, a tendency to cruelty. 8. Envy and hatred of successful people. 9. Nationalism combined with religious fanaticism. It is worth noting that girls aged 16-25 are most affected by recruiters. This age group is characterized by a high susceptibility to other people's influence, suggestion and manipulation. Insufficient stress tolerance, reduced self-preservation instinct, reduced social ties and responsibility, romanticization and glorification of illegal and aggressive actions contribute to faster radicalization. Loneliness, crisis situations, psychological trauma, the need for significance for others, the need for a structured life (the desire "for someone else to decide, and I just follow") - these psychological characteristics can be recognized as a girl subject to destructive influence from outside. This can also include low self-esteem, the presence of elements of a split personality (i.e. dissociative disorders), insufficient personal identity, a rather strong need to join a group (group identification), an acute experience of social injustice, isolation and alienation, and constant aggressive and defensive readiness. Subjective reasons include the illusion of solving complex issues in a simple way, maximalism and fanatical faith. One of the most striking markers here is the presence of suicidal tendencies, which are characteristic of such types of people as egoist (falling out of society), altruist (too serious a reaction to what is happening, high loyalty to society, the ability to "die for the company"), fatalist (belief in the inevitability of events, lack of internal and external freedom), imitator (ostentatious suicide as blackmail), abnormal suicide (rejection of generally accepted norms of behavior and human values). There are 5 levels of motivation for a terrorist organization follower. 1 stage. Deprivation – a sense of injustice or deprivation. People who are dissatisfied with their lives are looking for an opportunity to fight injustice. The desire for justice, as well as frustration if it can't be achieved. Stage 2. The attempt to take out aggression. It occurs, as a rule, during inter-group interaction and is associated with the fact that group leaders can direct negative emotions that accumulate within the group beyond its borders. Stage 3. Moral justification of terrorist actions: it is society that is unjust, and the terrorist organization pursues noble goals. Stage 4. Social categorization is an extremely effective psychological process that leads to the isolation of a group and discrimination of people outside it. The "us versus them" model. Stage 5. This is the act of terrorism itself and the opportunity to psychologically distance oneself from the victims until the deterrent mechanisms that limit aggression are activated. At risk are converts from "non-Muslim" peoples and ethnic Muslims, especially those who have some knowledge of Islam but grew up outside of Sharia. Girls themselves are looking for religious teachers, often it is the Internet, where information is almost not filtered. At the same time, girls and men forget that there are no moments in the history of Islam when women are sent to fight. And suicide was always frowned upon. If we talk about Muslim converts, their activities in terrorist organizations follow the following pattern: they are married, the husband is killed, and she is turned into a Shahid.