How Women’s Support Energises Somalia’s Al-Shabaab

Al-Shabaab has a surprisingly large social base among Somali women, despite the insurgent group’s patriarchal ethos, strict gender ideology and brutal methods. Horn of Africa expert Alan Boswell talks with our Senior Analyst on Gender Azadeh Moaveni about Crisis Group’s field research on women’s roles within the movement, from intelligence gathering, to fundraising, to arms carrying and to recruitment. She also draws on Crisis Group recent work in northeastern Nigeria and Syria.