Publication: Al-Monitor ZAATARI, Jordan — It has been years since Da’ed and her family fled Syria, but when her granddaughter asks where her mother and father are, the 60-year-old woman cannot find the right words to explain. In fact, Najoua, 4, still doesn’t know that her…
Publication: Al-Monitor MAFRAQ, Jordan — Her first husband was a 46-year-old man from Saudi Arabia who already had two wives. Once every few months, he traveled to Jordan for business, and during these visits he would talk to Fatima’s aunt about marrying another woman. Her aunt told him she had…
Publicatie: De Groene Amsterdammer Naar schatting 35 tot 50 jonge Nederlandse vrouwen zijn vertrokken naar het kalifaat van Islamitische Staat. Moeder Monique vond vorige week dochter Aïcha terug aan de Turks-Syrische grens. ‘Ik had niet verwacht dat ze nog zou leven.’ MONIQUE LEEFDE maanden op…
Publication: Al Monitor AMSTERDAM, Netherlands — Vanessa, 19, was always a rebellious and spontaneous teen. Someone who liked being the center of attention and didn’t let anybody tell her what to do. After she became a teenager, she was always hanging around “tough boys” from…
Publication; Middle East Eye Young European Muslim women who feel there is no place for them in society seek to find a world they relate to in IS-controlled areas in Syria. “Dear daughter, where are you? My heart is aching because I don’t know where…
Publication: Al Monitor AL-KHALDEYA, Jordan — Even when Hamda was still living in the city of Homs, her husband used to hit her. This didn’t happen a lot, but occasionally, when he was stressed out or tired. Most of the time he wasn’t even at…
Publicatie: De Tijd De strijd van de radicale ISIS- rebellen in Syrië en Irak trekt ook Belgische en Nederlandse vrouwen aan. Vechten doen ze niet, wel het huishouden. Scènes met kalasjnikovs naast de pot choco delen ze op Facebook. En ze proberen hun lotgenoten in…
Publicatie: Parool De jihad in Syrië trekt ook Nederlandse vrouwen. Strijden doen ze niet, wel het huishouden. Op sociale media delen zij informatie over het dagelijks leven en vragen zij anderen om ook te komen. Volgens de Belgische vrouwelijke jihadist Umm Haniefa zijn er meer…
Publicatie: Parool De Amsterdamse Khadija wilde altijd al in een islamitische staat wonen om daar volgens de regels van de islam te leven. In 2013 ging zij naar Syrië en trouwde daar een jihadstrijder. Nu is ze terug in Nederland. Khadija had in Nederland ‘niets…
Publication; Al Monitor AMSTERDAM — Khadija (not her real name) enjoyed a quiet life in the Netherlands, the country she grew up in. She had a place to stay and the opportunity to study. However, over the last couple of years, she found it more difficult as a devout Muslim and felt…
Publication: Al-Monitor REYHANLI, Turkey — Dima* is a confident 21-year-old with pale skin and big brown eyes. Her black headscarf is wrapped loosely around her head above her pink dress. She has two small children and a husband, but he currently works as a cab driver in Lebanon. Every month, Adly sends…
Publicatie: De Tijd De Syrische burgeroorlog maakte al minstens 110.000 doden en joeg 7 miljoen Syriërs op de vlucht. Ondertussen verdwenen tienduizenden anderen van de radar. Ze werden opgepakt en opgesloten in geheime gevangenissen. Wie vrijkomt, getuigt over gruwelijke martelpraktijken. De Syriër Jad Bantha (32) woonde…
Za’atari, Jordan – Fatima sits in a beauty salon getting her hair and make-up done by young female refugees. Their pink, white and blue dresses with lots of little fake diamonds are shining in the afternoon sun.
Written for Al-Monitor CAIRO — In the makeshift field hospital in the al-Raba’a Adawiya Mosque, people are running, crying and comforting each other. Men walk around wearing bloodied clothing, and women wipe brown spots off the floor. Dirty bandages, empty IV bags and other first aid…
Written for Al-Monitor CAIRO- As violence against women protesting in Tahrir Square grew, Egyptians were taking measures to provide safety for the female protesters. In one instance, males have formed a human shield around women, so that attackers cannot get close to them.