The women of IS: Part two
The Documentary Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 11 March 2026
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
What next for the Syrian detention camps and their residents? After the fall of the so-called “caliphate”, tens of thousands of women and children from around the world - followers of the Islamic State group as well as its victims - ended up in a handful of camps in north-eastern Syria. Once run by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, those camps are now in the process of being closed down by the Syrian authorities. This three-part series from the Global Jigsaw explores the trauma that led to their prolonged existence and how it might affect their future.
In part two, we examine where governments are drawing the line on repatriation, from Britain’s tough stance to Kazakhstan’s model of success.
Contributors: Mina al-Lami, Jiyar Gol, Barry Marston, Clare Denning, Mohammed Al-Jumaily, Bryn Windsor Producer: Kriszta Satori, Elchin Suleymanov Presenter: Krassi Ivanova Twigg Music: Pete Cunningham
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:04.5 | Frozen in limbo for years, the residents are facing a new chapter and more uncertainty, |
| 0:24.6 | a potential homecoming that could bring freedom for some and prison for others. |
| 0:29.6 | There are many women and children who are clearly desperate to return to their countries of origin |
| 0:34.5 | and others who may be fighting tooth and nail to avoid getting sent |
| 0:39.0 | back. The Syrian authorities want the situation resolved. In the face of resistance from abroad |
| 0:45.1 | like this from the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, whose country recently saw an |
| 0:51.1 | IS-inspired massacre on Bondi Beach. |
| 0:56.9 | My mother would have said if you make your bed, you lie in it. |
| 1:03.6 | We have a very firm view that we won't be providing assistance or repatriation. |
| 1:10.2 | Bringing home what the tabloid press calls ISIS brides is a decision many countries would rather not have to make. |
| 1:11.6 | It's very difficult for courts in Europe to judge the difference between individuals who are |
| 1:17.4 | victims and those who are perpetrators of some of the most serious crimes we've seen in modern times. |
| 1:24.2 | Yet some have shown that there is a way. |
| 1:27.0 | Until the recent repatriations in Iraq, Central Asia was |
| 1:29.8 | the leading region globally for bringing people home. It was a model that was commended by the UN. |
| 1:36.3 | In this episode of our series on the Women of IS, we explore how countries whose citizens |
| 1:42.5 | joined the Islamic State Group |
| 1:44.1 | view the dilemmas involved in bringing their people back. |
| 1:48.5 | We'll try to understand their narratives through the domestic and geopolitical contexts |
| 1:53.4 | to assess how this story could pan out. |
| 2:00.7 | Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service. |
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