Breadcrumbs

Women and Violence Radicalization in Jordan

Authored by: United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and the Jordanian National Commission for Women

Categories: Violent Conflict
Sub-Categories: Countering Violent Extremism, National Security Forces and Armed Groups
Country: Jordan
Region: Middle East and North Africa
Year: 2016
Citation: United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and the Jordanian National Commission for Women. Women and Violence Radicalization in Jordan. Amman: United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, 2016.

Access the Resource:

Executive Summary

Like many countries around the world, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan faces risks from “violent radicalization,” often defined as a process through which a person comes to embrace the use of violence to serve an ideology, religion or political goal. Violent radicalization may lead to violent extremism and terrorism, therefore threatening the rights and well-being of citizens. The ways in which violent extremism affects women—both as victims and participants—are rarely discussed and remain under-explored. As Jordan moves toward taking new efforts to combat violent extremism within its borders, it is necessary for all involved to have a deeper understanding of how women in Jordan play roles in preventing or promoting such radicalization. This study aims to understand how women and men define “radicalization” and “violent extremism” in Jordanian communities and examine their attitudes and behavior regarding the phenomena. The focus was on examining radicalization among Jordanians and not among refugee communities. The study aims to evaluate whether or not there is a risk of radicalization for women and girls in Jordan and whether or not there are different “push and pull” factors for women and girls versus men and boys. The research also focused on understanding whether or not women’s places in their communities give them a unique position to observe or take part in either the radicalization or deradicalization process. It also aims to evaluate whether or not ongoing or planned deradicalization efforts by governmental and non-governmental organizations targeting Jordan are gender-sensitive.