The Islamic State (ISIS) has renewed its effort to recruit young girls and more women to its terrorist ranks,
The Washington Free Beacon reports.
ISIS has begun a "considerable" plan to attract "radicalized foreign females" into the group, the Free Beacon said, noting that about 10 percent of current membership is female.
Although women do not fight, they provide support for male ISIS fighters, raising children and creating homes for the men, the Free Beacon noted, citing a report released on Monday from the
Human Security Centre in London, which noted that "recruitment is no longer a man's game."
"Western women and girls are promised devout, jihadist husbands, a home in a true Islamic state and the opportunity to devote their lives to their religion and their god. This lure, coupled with the desire to become a 'founding mother' to a new nation, has helped establish a narrative of duty," the HSC report said.
"It is well documented that any large army of men, which we must recognize that ISIS has become, requires morale building and continuous incentives. Women play a critical role in this and have done for centuries," the report noted.
"The community-building skills that women bring, alongside the obvious reproductive capabilities, provide a sense of belonging and responsibility to fighters without which they could be tempted to return to their home nations where their families and friends still reside."
The New York Times, in late February,
charted the story of a 20-year-old, U.K.-born female recruiter, now living in Syria and acting as a den mother to new recruits. She is likely responsible for urging three London teens to leave home for Syria and take up the ISIS cause.
The family of Aqsa Mahmood has urged her to return home and end her involvement with ISIS.
"Your actions are a perverted and evil distortion of Islam," wrote Mahmoud's family in a statement made public by their attorney, the Times said. "You are killing your family every day with your actions. They are begging you to stop if you ever loved them."
The HSC report said Western governments had been lax in responding to this growing recruiting problem.
"The lack of attention given to this increasing trend is striking — as is the reactive nature of policy responses," it said.
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