The unmarried women were known as muhajirat—migrants—and were first placed in a maqqar, a sort of hostel. They were not allowed outside without permission, and then only if it was strictly necessary, in which case they had to be chaperoned. If they needed something, they were to approach the administrator. Those who had already arrived explained the system to those who were planning to come. It was important to come with the right intentions, wrote Umm Layth—Mother of the Lion—one of the most active on social media. “The reality is that to stay without a man here is really difficult.” She elaborated: “I have stressed this before on Twitter but I really need sisters to stop dreaming about coming to Syria and not getting married. Wallahi, life is very difficult here for the muhajirat, and we depend heavily on the brothers for a lot of support. It is not like the West where you can casually go out to Walmart and drive home…”
When they married, which as a rule they quickly did, often immediately after arriving, they were given a place to live commensurate with the husband’s status.
A Malaysian woman calling herself Bird of Paradise married a Moroccan she had never met prior to her wedding day and described life in the caliphate in terms of cost: “1. We don’t pay rent here. Houses are given for free. 2. We pay neither electric nor water bills. 3. We are given monthly groceries. Spaghetti, pasta, canned foods, rice, eggs, etc. 4. Monthly allowances are given not only to husbands but also to wives and also for each child. 5. Medical check-up and medication are free—the Islamic State pays on your behalf.”
Mother of the Lion felt she deserved these benefits: “In these lands we are rewarded for our sacrifice in migrating here, and receive ghanimah—war booty. Honestly there is something so pleasurable in knowing that what you have has been taken from the kuffar and handed to you personally by Allah as a gift. Some of the many things include kitchen appliances like fridges, cookers, ovens, microwaves, milkshake machines, vacuum cleaners, cleaning products, fans and most important—a house with free electricity and water provided to you by the caliphate and no rent, included.”
Umm Ubaydah shared her attitude: “Alhamdulillah, God be praised, and they give food and clothes, mostly ghanimah, and today we received fresh bread.”
The electricity may have been free, but supply was intermittent, and as one woman explained, you could not always count on being able to charge your phone. It was important to have candles and flashlights available, and you had to learn how to wash your clothes by hand “since you really cannot depend on a washing machine here.”
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Leila and Ayan also were occupied with conveying a good impression of the caliphate. While Syrians fled their homes, Ayan wrote to Ismael, “We get money without working here btw. Tee hee. The house costs nothing, electricity costs nothing, and water costs nothing.”
What, then, was expected from women in return for all this?
Umm Ubaydah could clarify: “The best thing for a woman is to be a righteous wife and to raise righteous children.”
For some the whole experience was a disappointment. Even in one of the world’s most infamous cities, where beheadings had become public entertainment, domestic life could be boring. But few admitted they had expected more of the caliphate than housework, and those who expressed criticism were swiftly put in their place by the sisters.
Umm Layth wrote: “As mundane as some of the day-to-day tasks may get, still you truly value every minute here for the sake of Allah—wallahi, I swear to God I have come across such beautiful sisters who will spend mornings and nights in happiness because they are cooking the mujahideen food.”
Quite a few of the bloggers’ texts were more akin to cooking blogs than war journals. One woman celebrated a cake she had baked, posting a photo of it with a grenade carefully positioned beside it: “Oreo cheesecake à la @UmmMujahid 93 and me.” Daily life was described under the hashtag #SimplePleasures in #IS. Their references, which might include Disney movies, celebrities, and food products, revealed that many of the girls had, not long ago, lived ordinary teenage lives. For a while Nutella was all the rage—husbands posted pictures of the jar along with Kalashnikovs and grenades. Many of the young fighters had a sweet tooth and posted pictures of well-stocked shelves in the pastry shops of Raqqa.
Some websites specialized in recipes and snack tips for jihadistas. They were often basic and accompanied by simple illustrations. A recipe on the site of the al-Zorah women’s group showed a sequence of photos: an egg in a bowl, sugar in a bowl, the egg and sugar being mixed, a spoonful of salt, a glass of milk, a glass of flour, a larger bowl with everything whisked together, and finally a frying pan. “Sisters, you can make these pancakes and put them in the pockets of your fighter’s fatigues when they’re on their way into battle. We pray to God that this recipe is beneficial to our mujahid heroes!”
The pancakes could be served with honey, syrup, sugar, butter, jam, or—Nutella.
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The women rarely expressed regret online for the choice they had made, although quite a few wrote about missing their families back home and displayed awareness of the worry they had caused. Fear of hurting their parents, particularly their mothers, was what had occasioned the most doubt when they were considering whether or not it was right to leave. One girl felt anguish for leaving her mother alone, since
