Repatriation of Kazakh Women and Children From Conflict Zones in Syria and Iraq

• Authors: Omirzakova Meruyert
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

The issues of combatting terrorism and extremism are considered to be the most acute problems in the national security of many countries. Terrorism has never been seen in Kazakhstan as a real threat, but more as a potential danger. However, after the terrorist attacks that took place on the territory of Kazakhstan, the threat of terrorism has become a reality. Moreover, a number of citizens of Kazakhstan left the country in order to join the “holy war” mainly in Syria and Iraq, and contribute to the building of the “Islamic Caliphate.” In order to evacuate the Kazakh citizens left in dangerous terrorist zones, the National Security of the Republic of Kazakhstan conducted a large-scale humanitarian operation “Zhusan”1 returning 607 citizens (413 of them are children) from ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). In this article, various factors and motives of women who were under the influence of terrorist ideology and who emigrated to ISIS in order to become “true” Muslims are revealed based on the research works of Kazakh and foreign scholars and researchers as well as interviews of the women themselves and experts who worked with them.

Keywords

EN

Kazakhstan; terrorism; female Islamic identity; repatriation from ISIS; “Zhusan” operation; deradicalization; rehabilitation; reintegration

• Publisher: Polskie Towarzystwo Orientalistyczne
• Journal: Przegląd Orientalistyczny
• Year: 2023
• Issue: 1-2 (285-286)
• Pages: 87-93

Contributors

author

Omirzakova Meruyert

• Uniwersytet Warszawski

References

• Almaty kalasy Din isteri zhonindegi baskarmasy [Department of Legal Statistics and Special Accounts of Almaty city]. “Kazirgi dini sogystar. Onda nege qazaqstandyqtarga oryn zhoq?,” 2021,
• https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/almaty-din/press/article/details/38203?lang=ru [18.07.2023].
• Aref’ev, Anton. “K voprosu o vozvrashchenii grazhdan iz zon vooruzhennykh konfliktov.” Mezhdunarodnoe sotrudnichestvo evraziǐskikh gosudarstv: politika, ėkonomika, pravo, no. 4, 2020, pp. 42–47.
• Dubovaya, Mariya. “KNB RK predstavil polnuyu versiyu fil’ma o zhenshchinakh osuzhdennykh za terrorizm,” 2019, https://informburo.kz/novosti/knb-rk-predstavil-polnuyu-versiyu-filma-ozhenshchinah-osuzhdyonnyh-za-terrorizm.html [11.05.2023].
• Ernst, Zhanat, Akhmetov, Zhomart. “Operatsii ‘Zhusan’ i ‘Rusafa’ prezentovali v Evroparlamente,” 2020,
• https://khabar.kz/ru/news/item/120198-operatsii-zhusan-i-rusafa-prezentovali-v-evroparlamente [11.05.2023].
• Karin, Erlan. “Terrorizm v Kazakhstane: ot virtualnogo k real’nomu.” Gazeta Kursiv, no. 27, 2011, https://kz.kursiv.media/2011-07-14/terrorizm-v-kazakhstane-ot-virtualnogo-k-realnomu/ [10.05.2023].
• National Security Affairs Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan. “Flowers in Chains,” YouTube, Documentary, 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXzAT0FPjGg [19.07.2023].
• Ní Aoláin, F. “Kazakhstan: UN Expert Urges Reform of Law and Practice on Terrorism and Extremism,” 2019, https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2019/05/kazakhstan-un-expert-urges-reformlaw-and-practice-terrorism-and-extremism [11.05.2023].
• Nuradinov, Almat, Zhumagel’dinov, Askar. “O nekotorykh problemakh issledovaniya religioznogo radikalizma i terrorizma (na primere opyta Kazakhstana).” Natsionalnyǐ psikhologicheskiǐ zhurnal, vol. 1, no. 45, 2022, pp. 43–52.
• Nurseitova, Torgyn. “V Kazakhstane vedetsya bolshaya rabota s litsami, podverzhennymi radikal’noǐ ideologii,” 2018, https://www.zakon.kz/5085853-v-kazahstane-vedetsya-bolshaya-rabota-s.html [11.05.2023].
• Qasqabayeva, Dana. “Qazaqstannyn terrorismmen kurestegi quqyqtyq is-areketteri.” Vestnik Instituta zakonodatelstva i pravovoi informacii Respubliki Kazakhstan, vol. 4, no. 58, 2019, pp. 185–193.]
• Roy, Olivier. Jihad and Death. The Global Appeal of Islamic State. Oxford University Press, 2017.
• Ryzhichkin, Nikita. “Kazakhstanskaya model’ protivodeǐstviya religioznomu ekstremizmu i terrorizmu.” Rossiya i novye gosudarstva Evrazii, no. 1, 2018, pp. 134–149.
• Sabdin, Askar. “Kazakhstanskiǐ opyt teologicheskoǐ deradikalizatsiǐ.” Zhurnal tsentralno-aziatskikh ievraziǐskikh issledovaniǐ, vol. 1, no. 1, 2021, pp. 59–63.
• Shapoval, Yuliya. “Podkhod i opyt Kazakhstana v reabilitactsii i reintegratsii repatriantov.” NKO Poisk obshchikh interesov, 2021, pp. 1–48, https://www.sfcg.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/KZ-approach-and-experience-in-rehabilitation-of-repatriates-RU.pdf [11.05.2023].
• Shapoval, Yuliya, Bekmaganbetova, Madina. “Khizhra v ‘Islamskoe Gosudarstvo’ cherez prizmu zhenskikh narrativov: keiǐs Kazakhstana.” Gosudarstvo, religia, tserkov v Rossii i za rubezhom, vol. 39, no. 3, 2021, pp. 289–315.
• Spencer, Amanda N. “The Hidden Face of Terrorism: An Analysis of the Women in Islamic State.” Journal of Strategic Security, vol. 9, no. 3, 2016, pp. 74–98, JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26473339 [12.05.2023].
• Valitova, Elena. “Ugroza rasprostraneniya ideologii IGIL cherez virtualnye sotsialnye kommunikatsii.”Obzor NCPTI, vol. 1, no. 10, 2017, pp. 56–59.
• Veber, Elena. “Sogys korgender. Siriya men Iraktan oralgandardy beibit omirge qalai beimdep jatyr?,” 2021, https://www.azattyq.org/a/kazakhstan-children-returned-from-syria-psychologicalhelp/31250650.html [11.05.2023]].
• Zhanuzakov, Amir. “Naskol’ko kazakhi religiozny – tsifry ot eksperta”, 2018, https://365info.kz/2018/12/naskolko-kazahi-religiozny-tsifry-ot-eksperta [10.05.2023].

Identifiers

DOI

10.33896/POrient.2023.1–2.7