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Recognizing the early signs of radicalization through empowerment of

the gender equality of women in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Presentation · March 2019

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Safet Mušić
Ministry of Defense, Bosnia and Herzegovina
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 Recognizing the early signs of
radicalization through
empowerment of the gender
equality of women in Bosnia and
Herzegovina

Safet Mušić, PhD candidate

Case of Bosnia and Herzegovina
 226 adult citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina were
at foreign battlefields in Syria and Iraq, of which
115 are currently there.
 Out of these 115, 65 were male and 56 were
female.
 Report from December 2016 - 65 BiH citizens died,
while 46 of them returned to their homeland.
 At the Syrian-Iraqi battlefield there are 57 children
and juveniles of BiH citizens.
Case of Bosnia and Herzegovina
 46 persons who returned to their homeland, 20 of
them were prosecuted before domestic courts,
while the other 26 are being prosecuted.
 Since 2016, there hasn't been recorded cases of
departures of BiH citizens to Iraq-Syrian battlefield,
nor there been terrorist attacks in BiH.
 There has been recorded certain number of
departures of BiH citizens to Ukraine battlefield.
 The primary problem in BiH is radicalization rather
than violent extremism.
Case of Bosnia and Herzegovina
 Global Terrorism Index (GTI), Bosnia and Herzegovina
(BiH) is ranked as 91st, out of 163 countries on the
GTI list, better placed for 12 places than in 2017.
 More than 20 years later, war narrative is still
present.
 It has been known that war narrative and trauma has
been transferring trough three generations.
 Root cause of VE and radicalization can be viewed
trough vicious circle of social exclusion and lack of
social cohesion.
 The most important role of family is in prevention
phase.
Case of Bosnia and Herzegovina
 The prevention of radicalization and violent
extremism actually starts at "home" and in the
local community.
 In BiH, in theory the woman is a pillar of each
family, according to the significance of her role.
 But, in practice when it comes to independence
in decision making and managing family relations,
the situation is different.
 As a specific category of society, women have a
very important role in the prevention.
Role of women in PCVE in BiH

 Therole of women in the prevention of violent

extremism in a predominantly traditional
society, such as BiH is significant.
 Women are not recognized or systematically
supported, as an important factor of
prevention, and in particular, in recognizing
early radicalization factors.
 Confirmation of the important role of women
in detecting early signs of radicalization.
Role of women in PCVE in BiH

 Women are naturally sensitive to first feel

changes in behavior and attitudes among family
members.
 Research methodology (December 2018-February
2019) - Interviews through a focus group with 30
women (age 18 to 35) from all over of BiH, whose
family members accepted the ideology of VE.
RESEARCH RESULTS (Dec 2018 – Feb 2019)
 30 women respondents of research
80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
War narative and PTSD Religious motivation Departure to foreign Primary education Secondary education Higher education
battlefield
 RESEARCH RESULTS (Dec 2018 – Feb 2019)
90%

80% 77%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%
20%

10%

0%
Poverty and social exclusion One-parent family (single moms)
RESEARCH RESULTS (Dec 2018 – Feb 2019)

SENSE OF RECOGNIZING RADICALIZATION

LEVEL OF AWARENESS

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
RESEARCH RESULTS (Dec 2018 – Feb 2019)
Basic reasons why family members decide to enter the process
of radicalization are:
 Promises of profit in material matters
 Need for group membership
 Getting drugs due to drug addiction
 Escape from the criminal past
 Fighting the regime for justice and against the oppression
 Helping the brothers by religion
 For girls, promises to find a husband
 Adventure
Early signs of radicalization in family, that
women recognized
 Changes in behavior (departures from home, retreat,
time spent on the Internet, poor results at school,
changes in dress modes, hanging out with strangers,
aggression, interest in weapons ...)
 Justification of violence in some cases of crises in the
world or towards different religious or minority
groups
 Sudden termination of contacts with relatives and
friends
Early signs of radicalization in family, that
women recognized
 Inclusion in criminal groups, violent or extreme
groups and organizations
 Poor integration into society when relocating the
family
 Extreme interpretation and practice of religion
 Increased interest in political issues
 Expressed need of children for feeling of identity
and belonging to a certain group
How can women contribute?
 Building courage and responsibility for women and mothers
to advise family Members when and how can be created an
extremist narratives
 Training for women to educate their families to recognize
how extremists hide their goals under the cloak of religion
 Empowerment of women (political, social and economic)
 Joint engagement with Centers for Social Work and Religious
Communities
 Networking women into an organization or informal group,
using social networks
 Inclusion of women in NGOs dealing with the prevention of
extremism and violence
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