It may surprise many that women like Farida — who once dreamed of being a nurse — would join a violent extremist group, but their reasons are varied and complex. And it takes a holistic state response not only to stop them from joining but also to pull them out.

The Philippines is witnessing a rise in women leading suicide missions, leaving the government challenged to simultaneously understand them and anticipate their next move.

OMAS GEGEN RECHTS, or “Grandmothers Against the Extreme Right,” challenges the revival of far-right extremism with personal histories inextricably tied to theirs and their parents' experiences with similar movements in the past against fascism, misogyny, and racism.

Women Under Siege spoke with Dr. Maxine Margolis about the three religious fundamentalist communities she observes in her book Women in Fundamentalism: Modesty, Marriage and Motherhood and the role of gender in their ideologies.