A MAN’S WORLD? Exploring the Roles of Women in Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism

The role of women in promulgating and countering violent extremism (CVE) is an understudied but critical contemporary security issue. Hedayah and the Global Center on Cooperative Security have developed this publication to further explore women and CVE-related issues through a range of perspectives, reflecting on women’s roles as propagators of terrorism, as well as agents in countering violent extremism. 

Some of the Hedayah report recommendations include: 

■ Tracking and analysing a gender dimension throughout all existing programmes and policy related to countering violent extremism. 

■ Increasing new programmes specifically focused on women. 

■ Strengthening local partnerships of women-led organisations. 

■ Enhancing capacities of women-led organisations that "opt-in" to countering violent extremism efforts and initiatives. 

■ Integrating gender dimension in all UN counterterrorism work. 

■ Promoting broadly inclusive dialogue that engages men and youth: Enhancing broad community support, including from men, boys and girls, for women's roles in counterterrorism will be important to their safety. It will also help to ensure that initiatives contribute to shaping broader structural dynamics that support the efficiency and sustainability of strengthening women's rights, development and security. 

■ Fostering and funding innovative research to assess how gender dynamics play a role in counterterrorism efforts.