Gendered Perceptions and online Radicalization: A Case study of Roshonara Choudhry

Abstract

There is a growing apprehension in contemporary times, particularly in Europe, regarding the online radicalization of women. The concern is further intensified by the case of Roshonara Choudhry, the sole British woman to be found guilty of a significant Islamist assault. In 2010, a university student staged an assault on her Member of Parliament subsequent to viewing radicalizing YouTube videos that offered an alternative perspective to the dominant theoretical frameworks. An War Anwar al Awlaki is a cleric who espouses extremist views. Existing radicalization theories characterize Choudhry as a "pure lone wolf," a helpless victim of Internet indoctrination. This article examines the influence of gender on Choudhry's radicalization. Specifically, it demonstrates how gender pushed her to the Internet and hindered her ability to engage with Islamism in the real world, thereby increasing her susceptibility to extremist propaganda. Ultimately, by creating an intolerable ambiguity between her online and multiple "real" gender identities, gender contributed to her assault. This paper emphasizes the egregious nature of female violence within the framework of Salafi-Jihadi theology. Additionally, it scrutinizes the importance of this gendered doctrine as the bedrock of ISIS's online propaganda. It emphasizes the critical nature of understanding the ways in which gender functions in the Jihad's publication of Crime and Obligations for Men and Women.