Politics for Jihadi Women: Lashker-e-Taiba and Jamaat ud Dawah as a case study

This chapter explores how Muslim women affiliated with jihadi groups approach the idea of politics with reference to Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jamaat ud Dawah (JUD) in Pakistan. Based on analysis of books, pamphlets and magazines published by LeT and JuD, it argues that the idea of citizenship and politics among women affiliated with the group could be understood in terms of citizenship encompassing the notion of ‘purposive being’ and active participation. Operating within the framework of Pakistani society, and building on the close connections linking the group and some sections of the military, these women did not adopt the confrontational attitude observed among women affiliated with the so-called Islamic State. Instead, they restricted themselves to questioning the extent to which Pakistan has remained true to its original vision, and prescribed what they present as ‘corrective pathways’. In this context, their idea of the ‘political’ expanded from an original focus on the family and social as ‘political’ to a broader conception of what constitutes ‘political’ for women. Their notion of ‘political’ presented an integrated picture of politics encompassing family, societal, economic and political spheres, with an asserted citizenship right to analyse and prescribe appropriate domestic and foreign policy for Pakistan.