Between the Left and the Right: Jihadi Brides’ British Media Frames Post ISIS Fall

This thesis analyzes the media frames/representations of Western women who migrated to ISIS, known as “Jihadi Brides,” after the fall of ISIS in December 2017. ISIS is a terrorist group that used attractive strategies and techniques in recruiting Western women to join ISIS as Jihadi Brides, building on the promises of the perfect life within the Islamic state. It is important to understand this phenomenon especially after the fall of ISIS. Media narratives and frames help shape the public opinion and the societal actions toward different societal issues. This research is important because it analyzes the phenomenon of the Jihadi Brides as an existing problem after the fall of ISIS through the frames of the media and qualitative research through a feminist lens focused on the traumatized Western women who migrated to ISIS. Based on a media feminist analysis of two main British newspapers that represent the right and the left, this research holds a comparison of the media representations of the Jihadi Brides in The Daily Telegraph/Sunday telegraph and The Guardian. Keywords: Jihadi Brides, ISIS Women, Media Frames, British Media, Feminis