Study: Young women who join ISIS looking for sisterhood more than marriage

New research suggests that many young women who leave home to join Islamic State in Syria do so because they are looking for sisterhood.

While some do hope to become so-called "jihadi brides," others go because they believe Muslims are being persecuted and they feel isolated in secular Western society, according to a report released Thursday by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue and the International Center for the Study of Radicalization at King's College London. It's actually hazardous to believe that the girls are all being brainwashed or groomed by ISIS, say authors Erin Saltman and Melanie Smith. "They're not being taken seriously," Smith told The Associated Press. "It's inherently dangerous to label people with the same brush."

About 550 young women, some as young as 13, have gone to live in ISIS-controlled territory. Researchers followed the social media accounts of more than 100 of these girls, and found that many viewed themselves as pilgrims, with some wishing they were allowed to fight alongside men on the battlefield. While most of their posts were positive — photos with new 'sisters' and images from weddings — some did warn young women looking to join ISIS that they should expect poor health care, little water and electricity, and brutal weather. "These anecdotes serve to disprove the idea of the well-integrated, utopian society that is so strongly emphasized by ISIS propaganda," the researchers said.

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