Islamophobia, gender and violence in discourse: Media representations of 'jihadi brides'

In this chapter, we apply a typology of violence to examine UK media constructions of jihadi brides. Developed in the work of seminal peace studies scholar Johan Galtung, the typology distinguishes between three overarching categories of direct, structural and cultural violence. We utilise this typology and related theoretical insight to explore one form of gender-based cultural violence. Building on prior research which reveals the gendered nature of Islamophobic violence experienced by Muslim women in the UK in the form of direct violence and the gendered rhetoric of Islamophobic sentiment witnessed across Western media discourses, we examine UK media representations of women labelled as jihadi brides. Drawing analytic support for our argument by placing a spotlight on the case of Shamima Begum, we argue that mainstream UK media representations of women who leave the UK to pursue a life in the self-declared ‘Islamic State’ can be read as the doing of Islamophobic gender-based cultural violence. Through our exploration of the Shamima Begum case, we further contend that this complex construction of a gendered, racialised, religious ‘Other’ which dominates UK media representations also shores up structural violence and facilitates direct violence against women who become categorised as jihadi brides.