The News Minute | October 31, 2014 | 07:08 pm IST
London: The notorious militant organisation Islamic State (IS) appears to have started influencing women by providing guidelines on how to be the ultimate wives of IS fighters in Syria and Iraq.
These guidelines are being distributed by the militant group's new media arm The Zora Foundation, the latest IS media group operating across social networks.
IS regularly release propaganda showing brutal executions and violent atrocities, training regimes for fighters and threats to the West as the US-led coalition air strikes continue.
But unlike most of IS's propaganda that addresses men and attempts to recruit fighters, this specifically targets women supporting Islamist fighters by circulating advice on how to be 'good wives of jihad', the Independent reported.
The organisation's slogan is "preparing for the honour of jihad", with videos and tweets explaining the ways in which women can contribute to IS's insurgency. Its social media accounts have already garnered over 2,000 followers after being established just over two weeks ago.
According to Charlie Winter, a researcher at counter-extremism think tank the Quilliam Foundation, the organisation is aimed at those preparing to go out and support the group, while also acting as a facility for the women already out there.
Winter said: "It's kind of a guideline on how to be a good supporter of jihad and have the best role in supporting 'your mujahidin' as a woman.
"I haven't seen anything like this before. There will probably be forums doing similar things online, but this is the first time I've come across an actual media organisation giving guidance to women on their role."
Zora's material, written in Arabic, has been shared by IS supporters across social media.
With IANS