Closing the Gap: The role of Women in pvE

1. Closing the Gap: The role of Women in pvE Dr. Fatima Akilu

2. The Generation gap Unprecedented and rapid growth in technology means that the generational gap has never been wider Gender gap has also shrunk for this generation Modern day terrorists have a better understanding of youth than PVE practitioners Messages and narratives are tailored to youths and youth platforms

3. Women as violent extremists • Women play multiple roles in violent extremist groups • Initially played more auxiliary roles – cooking, “Jihadi brides” • Increasingly being used in combat roles • Response to women’s roles in violent extremist groups is often uncoordinated

4. The pve/cve pyramid Greater gender awareness required Male-dominated Women need to be empowered to play this role Greater gender balance

5. Women preventing violent extremism • Women have been playing a frontline role in combating violent extremism in their communities. • These include assisting victims of terror, to negotiating ceasefires, participating in early warning networks and contributing to peace and security • Women’s organizations have special advantages – they are often seen as non-polarizing and have been instrumental in community policing approaches • Women’s groups struggle to get funding both locally and internationally to scale up their work.

6. Women preventing violent extremism • National security architecture must include gender awareness and recruitment and retention of women in senior positions • The time to define the role of women in PVE is now • Lessons learned from other movements, such as the role of women in the equality movement can be incorporated • A whole of the society approach utilizing men and women as equals can squeeze the space for terrorists

7. Thank you