Over 700 Tunisian Women Joined IS in Syria and Iraq

TUNIS – More than 700 Tunisian women have been recruited by Islamic State, as revealed on Friday by Badra Galul, the president of the Tunisian Center for Strategic and International Studies.

In a press conference, Galul stressed that more than 105 Tunisian women are currently serving prison sentences for crimes linked to terrorism, adding that Tunisian security forces have prevented 1,200 others from leaving the country to join IS.

The expert explained that the women who joined IS engage in tasks such as sexual jihad (offering sexual services to fighters in a temporary marriage), nursing, education and coordination between terrorists.

Medical sources confirmed to Efe that more than 50 Tunisian women who had joined IS in Iraq and Syria were reported to have returned back home pregnant after engaging in sexual jihad.

Tunisian health authorities take care of the babies once they are born at care centers in the capital, as families of young women tend not to welcome them back when they return with children.

The Tunisian government believes that this is the most effective way to reintegrate these young women into society and prevent their children from becoming future combatants.

Until now, it has been reported that Tunisia, with more than 3,000 volunteers, is the leading exporter of jihadists to the ranks of IS in Syria, Iraq and Libya; the latter where Tunisians hold leadership positions.