A woman living in Islamic State-held territory tells the BBC that “underage girls are in demand by ISIS.”
A woman who used the pseudonym “Daughter of Eastern Syria” spoke to BBC Arabic in a rare video interview conducted directly from a town almost completely held by ISIS called Deir al-Zour. The interview, which premiered Dec. 2, describes the hellish life of women living under ISIS rule.
“Sometimes wives of foreign fighters go into homes looking for girls of certain age. Once they find them they force them to marry a fighter. Underage girls are in demand by IS fighters,” says the woman. She goes on to explain that the wives of foreign fighters are particularly harsh on local Syrian women, and often harass them on behalf of ISIS. Though male ISIS leaders create the draconian rules for women, its is the female ISIS police force that enforces them.
Daughter of Eastern Syria goes on to explain that “[women] are being humiliated. [We] are being arrested, flogged, beaten, and subjected to all sorts of punishments.” She explains that ISIS fighters believe “women should be obedient and always follow orders.”
The restrictions on daily life for women under ISIS rule cover everything from the way women are allowed to walk to holding cell phones in public. “We have to dress according to Sharia law, we are forced to even cover our eyes,” she explains.
In a separate interview conducted in November, a woman called Nour who recently fled the ISIS capital of Raqqa, Syria explained that “[women] were forced to marry soldiers or forced to be prostitutes for them, but men tired of them, leaving them pregnant and alone.”
Women who challenged the views and politics of the ISIS regime were exposed to the most vicious of capital punishment, says Nour. “They leave them in a place nearby where hyenas hunt, they are eaten alive.”
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