Introduction
This article underlines the ongoing issue of unsafe and undocumented immigration in Somalia. Girl children are often forcibly recruited and illegally trafficked to be brides of the Al-Shabaab group in Somalia. Over the last couple of years, married women to members of the Al-Shabaab group are used as tools for violent extremism.
Apart from past news reports, there have been several qualitative research studies on Al-Shabaab, that highlights the group’s coming into existence and rising into power. And one such research study is – “The Invisible Women of Al-Shabaab” by Dr. Orly Maya Stern[1] – where the author gives a detailed account of what the Al-Shabaab group is and how it functions. The Al-Shabaab group is basically a Somalian militant group, formally known as “Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujaideen”, (which means “the youth”) was established in 2004, and it comprises of nearly 6000 members and 30,000 – 400,000 “associated members”. It is Union of Islamic Court’s militant wing. The militant group’s moto is to wage war with those who are “enemies of Islam”. Since then, this group has waged war against Somalia’s federal government, federal member states and African Union Mission to Somalia (also called AMISOM)[2][3]. This group is also identified as a side-shoot to jihadist movement that took place during the civil war in Somalia in 1990s. After waging wars and terrorizing nations, the group occupied parts of South and Central Somalia and governed the land by imposing extreme conservative Salafi version of Shari’ah law. This conservative laws imposed restriction on women in terms of women’s participation/involvement in public sphere.
Between 2012 and 2015, the situation changed. Al-Shabaab was pushed out of their land (Central and South Somalia) and was forced to rural areas by the armed forces and AMISOM[4]. Hence, since 2015, Al-Shabaab has been on a mission to reclaim their land and has been successful in all their endeavours as it controls the major roadways and large parts of both southern region and rural areas of the nation[5]. Furthermore, the group’s power extended beyond the land occupied before, as its main functions were carried out in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital city. The group was responsible for carrying out attacks on Somalia, Kenya and Uganda and it imposed tax on the Kenyan, Somalian and Ugandan territory and roadways. In order to maintain their business through taxation, extortion and attacks, they established a chain of spies and informers who work for them in Somalia, Kenya and Uganda. These spies and informers are none other than the brides or wives of Al-Shabaab group who play an important role in the intelligence division of the group. The brides or wives’ group is called “Amniyat”, who apart from being informers, help out their husband in carrying out attacks. Their sole objective is to instil fear in the society regarding the group[6].
Identifying the Push and Pull factors & Role of Women in Al-Shabaab
According to the interview reports in the Aljazeera news, the brides of Al-Shabaab group are recruited and trafficked from Kenya, Uganda and Somalia. The age group of these girls is between 12 to 18. However, there are many exceptions, as many females are educated. Widows are eager to become brides and hence give their full consent to work for Al-Shabaab. On the other hand, age group of male members within Al-Shabaab varies from 30 to above 60 years old.
These interview reports also underscored several push and pull factors, that became driving force behind bride’s support and consent of Al-Shabaab. The major pull factor in this case is the false promise of better future, as these child brides were trafficked by the traffickers from Uganda, Somalia and Kenya on false pretext of better life, education, employment and better standard of living.
The push factors to support Al-Shabaab and work as brides for the group are mainly due to five major reasons. First one is the ideology of becoming an extremist, which resonates well in Muslim women from Kenya, Uganda and Somalia. As past literature highlighted, Al-Shabaab propagates the accounts/chronicles of how Kenya being a Christian State oppresses the Muslim living in the country. This marginalisation of Muslim people in the African nations resonates within these women. Even more, many interviewed women admitted the desire to do something, so other Muslim would not suffer. Hence, they support Al-Shabaab’s approach and actions. Secondly, once the bride is married to the Al-Shabaab member, there is no other path other than to serve the group[7].
As already mentioned earlier, Al-Shabaab has imposed extreme laws that not only curtail women’s freedom but also prohibit women’s participation in public sphere. There are many instances and experiences shared by the child brides, such as what is life of Al-Shabaab brides. They cannot go out without men accompanying them or they are not allowed to work outside to sustain their family, which means that the families without man live in poverty. As well, they have mandated dress codes that covers their faces, hands and feet. Violation of these rules lead to severe punishment[8]. Even more, these brides have to attend compulsory religion classes, which teach them that Al-Shabaab is the non-corrupted group and women have a great responsibility in teaching the future generation to abide and contribute to the group. Thirdly, women are forced to serve the group through intimidation, torture and imprisonment. Under extreme laws, if women do not wear the mandated cloth, attend religion classes or go outside without men, then these women are canned on the spot, or brutally beaten, tortured and imprisoned.
As already discussed, that most of the brides were trafficked from Kenya to Somalia. After becoming brides, they have to attend the religion class, which are compulsory for Al-Shabaab women. Therefore, with continuous attendance in religion classes, they are brainwashed and later start to accept the religion, the actions of Al-Shabaab and believe that the actions of Al-Shabaab are right[9]. Fifthly, reaction to personal crisis, as many women are married in early age, have a fiancé or have a family member who was killed by the state government. For this reason, these young girls and women want to join the group as brides to seek revenge for their loss of loved ones. This concept of revenge is popularized and publicized by Al-Shabaab because they propagated the belief that state is the perpetrator to all the injustice within the nation and whereas Al-Shabaab are the providers of justice[10].
Role of women in day-to-day functioning of Al-Shabaab
Al-Shabaab uses these women for non-fighting purposes, mainly for smuggling weapons from one African country to another. In case of fighting purposes, they are mainly used as suicide bombers. Not only that, they play an important part in the intelligence division of Al-Shabaab by working as spies to collect information about the government. Women can easily mingle in the crowd, they are good communicators and less likely to be noticed, which make it easier for them to gather all the required information. Apart from that, women also play a crucial role in motivating other people to donate money, jewellery and goods to the group. At the same time, they also act as recruiters to recruit other women into the group and find them husbands. Based on the Al-Shabaab law, women who are under control of the group but have no husband are not allowed to run business, whereas women who are married and their husbands are fighters in the group enjoy a privilege of running a business within the group’s occupied territory.
Factors behind leaving Al-Shabaab and Consequences
It is also worth noticing that many brides are deceived, coerced and trafficked to Al-Shabaab. Other than the curtailment of autonomy and independence of women, they are also victims of extreme sexual abuse. According to past studies on Somalia’s Al-Shabaab brides, it is uncovered that, the Al-Shabaab law recognized and criminalized rape and violence against women outside marriage. But on the contrary, it fails to recognize domestic violence, intimate partner violence, marital rape within the household domain.
Apart from that, many women later realize that they are involved with the wrong actions of Al-Shabaab, because the attacks carried out by the group result in killings of thousands of innocent people also. Therefore, some of these women later decide to leave the group and escape to their homes and communities in Kenya, Uganda or Somalia[11].
But things get far worse when these vulnerable and abused women, also referred as “returnees” return to their communities. They are faced with retaliation from the Al-Shabaab by local people of their community, who see them as bad people. Then, the government of the respective nations alienate these women as they were fighters of Al-Shabaab and are linked to suicide bombings and violent attacks. Even more, the state police have also killed and abducted many returnees from the group[12].
The NGOs who worked with the returnees highlighted the urgent need for rehabilitation for these returnees as they should be given another chance to live a decent life. Because these returnees did not voluntarily participate in the militant group. And the money that government donates to NGOs to prevent these violent attacks should be given to the returnees, who are working at grassroot level to eradicate the violent attacks of Al-Shabaab, as they already know where, when and how Al-Shabaab functions, which help them to counter the violent actions of Al-Shabaab[13].
Richa Kundu is an avid reader, fond of history, gender, feminism, mythology and religion. She is a demographer and gerontologist by training. Currently, she is pursuing her law degree at Oxford Brookes University and at the same time she is also interning with GRFDT in the forum of “The Migration news” and working as a Demographer/Migration scholar under Migration Health South Asia (MiHSA), Global Policy Institute, Queens Mary University of London and wishes to make a future as a barrister and demographer.
[1] The Invisible Women of Al-Shabaab. Adam Smith International. http://www.orlystern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/ The-Invisible-Women-of-al-Shabaab-.pdf accessed on 2nd April 2021
[2]https://www.aljazeera.com/program/inside-story/2013/9/23/al-shabab-a-war-of-vengeance accessed on 3rd April 2021.
[3]https://amisom-au.org/ accessed on 5th April 2021.
[4] The Invisible Women of Al-Shabaab. Adam Smith International. http://www.orlystern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/ The-Invisible-Women-of-al-Shabaab-.pdf accessed on 2nd April 2021.
[5]ibid.
[6]ibid.
[7]https://scroll.in/article/987725/kenyan-women-and-girls-on-why-they-joined-al-shabaab-terrorists accessed on 4th April 2021.
[8] The Invisible Women of Al-Shabaab. Adam Smith International. http://www.orlystern.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/ The-Invisible-Women-of-al-Shabaab-.pdf accessed on 2nd April 2021.
[9]ibid.
[10]https://jamestown.org/program/asset-or-victims-a-portrait-of-women-within-al-shabaab/ accessed on 5th April 2021.
[11]https://www.aljazeera.com/program/radicalised-youth/2018/11/27/daughters-of-al-shabab accessed on 4th April 2021
[12]ibid.
[13]ibid.