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Guest House for Young Widows

Among the Women of ISIS

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Guest House for Young Widows

By: Azadeh Moaveni
Narrated by: Sarah Agha
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About this listen

 A gripping account of thirteen women who joined, endured, and, in some cases, escaped life in the Islamic State—based on years of immersive reporting by a Pulitzer Prize finalist.

FINALIST FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE • ONE OF PUBLISHERS WEEKLY’S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, NPR, Toronto Star, The Guardian

Among the many books trying to understand the terrifying rise of ISIS, none has given voice to the women in the organization; but women were essential to the establishment of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s caliphate.

Responding to promises of female empowerment and social justice, and calls to aid the plight of fellow Muslims in Syria, thousands of women emigrated from the United States and Europe, Russia and Central Asia, from across North Africa and the rest of the Middle East to join the Islamic State. These were the educated daughters of diplomats, trainee doctors, teenagers with straight-A averages, as well as working-class drifters and desolate housewives, and they joined forces to set up makeshift clinics and schools for the Islamic homeland they’d envisioned. Guest House for Young Widows charts the different ways women were recruited, inspired, or compelled to join the militants. Emma from Hamburg, Sharmeena and three high school friends from London, and Nour, a religious dropout from Tunis: All found rebellion or community in political Islam and fell prey to sophisticated propaganda that promised them a cosmopolitan adventure and a chance to forge an ideal Islamic community in which they could live devoutly without fear of stigma or repression.

It wasn’t long before the militants exposed themselves as little more than violent criminals,more obsessed with power than the tenets of Islam, and the women of ISIS were stripped of any agency, perpetually widowed and remarried, and ultimately trapped in a brutal, lawless society. The fall of the caliphate only brought new challenges to women no state wanted to reclaim.

Azadeh Moaveni’s exquisite sensitivity and rigorous reporting make these forgotten women indelible and illuminate the turbulent politics that set them on their paths. Gender Studies Middle East Political Science Politics & Government Social Sciences World Iran Africa Refugee
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Fantastic book. Just what we need in this time of confusion and mistrust but I can not stand the narrator! Constant pauses and questions marks when not needed!!!! Better just to read the book if you can

The narration is just awful

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A useful, clear analysis of (some) the reasons why.

I read a review which was very scathing about the narration and I was almost put off buying but there's nothing much wrong with it, if anything it's a little monotone.

Explanation of the Inexplicable

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it is a lovely book. My only issue was that I listened to it during the lockdown... which, I feel, warrants lighter reading. The stories of the women in this book are heartbreaking. I feel that young, vulnerable girls should be exposed to these stories...

Reality can be heartbreaking

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Exceptional book. Very interesting and informative. Well researched by the Author, being a journalist I would expect. Really does give a proper nuanced insight into the reasons of which are not easily defined. Highly recommend. Very sad and also an indictment of Western Governments complete lack of understanding of the whole issue. Lot's I could say,however I would say read it and I hope it will challenge people's misconceptions. Narrator was excellent too.

Excellent

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Fiercely read, with good reason. Incredible diction, which is essential as it's such a complex account of the social interactions between different races, sexes and religions of everything that goes on between Bethnal Green and the terrifying war-torn parts of the earth. An incredibly intelligent attempt to explain at a gigantic unfathomable subject.

Hard read to keep up with but definitely worth it.

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