war

As the UN Security Council tackles the entity claiming to be “Islamic State,” and President Barack Obama invokes global Muslim responsibility, many ask whether people of Muslim heritage do enough to counter extremism.

The extremist Sunni militant group called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, which recently declared a caliphate in parts of the Middle East, now controls an area of 13,000 square miles in Iraq and Syria. Testimonies coming out about daily life in the ISIS-controlled region depict an agenda of fear and intimidation being imposed, one that targets women with repression and violence.

On the 21^st August 2012, a female tea seller traveling in the early evening was dragged from a bus in Awdiinle, Baidoa Region, by Al Shabaab taken to the bush close by and beheaded. The woman in question had been based in Bardaale district (Bay region) and had in the course of her tea selling business served members of the TFG who came to her shop regularly. Although she had received threats from Al Shabaab that she would be killed if she continued to receive business from the TFG, due to her position as sole breadwinner in her household, it was necessary that she continue.