Veiled Threats: Women and Jihad

Women in patriarchal societies are assumed to be controlled by men: fathers, husbands or another male relative. Although extremist groups often control different aspects of women’s lives, from their religious obligations to dress, Jihadi women have asserted themselves in a myriad of ways. This lecture lifts the veil of the secret world of women in Jihadi groups to explain the motivation and challenge the misperceptions about women’s agency by exploring the range of roles of the women involved in Jihad. Mia explains how women are used and abused, deployed and destroyed, and the many ways in which their roles in terrorism have evolved over the past three decades.

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Dr. Mia Bloom is an International Security Fellow at New America and a Professor at Georgia State University. She speaks eight languages and has authored six books on violent extremism, including Dying to Kill and Bombshell. Her most recent book, Veiled Threats, coming out Winter 2025, explores the diverse roles of women involved in jihad. Mia has held appointments at Cornell, Harvard, Princeton, and McGill, and serves on several Counter-Radicalization boards. She holds a PhD from Columbia University and advanced degrees from Georgetown and McGill.