Why are Feminists so Afraid of ISIS?

The answer to this headline is quite obvious. Any group would be afraid of ISIS. ISIS leaves a trail of terror wherever it goes. 

So the real question is: why are feminists still remaining quiet and not flocking to aid the women and girls being brutally attacked and tortured by ISIS?

There are countless accounts of brutal attacks by these ISIS forces. All are barbaric in nature. But, let’s face it- brutal crimes are done to the innocent, specifically women and children usually have more of an impact. 

With the Paris attacks, ISIS coverage is at an all-time high. But for months, feminists have remained relatively silent regarding these brutalities done on their sisters in radical Islam.

In the spring of this year (2015,) Human Rights Watch documented a series of rape, sexual assault and slavery and forced marriages on Yazidi women and girls. After that, even more coverage was released about how girls as young as 9 years-old were being held as sex slaves for the ISIS forces. 

Usually stories like those cause feminists to speak out in outrage. But, again these women remained silent. So much so that multiple news sources keep calling out this group for not responding like expected. 

So why hasn’t the group started to protest that these women and girls need rescuing? Is it because they are too afraid to mess with ISIS? Or they are too busy caring about Western feminist issues? Are these women too far removed from radical Islam to even care? 

It’s not like feminists to say nothing, usually they are at least barking away trying to get others to help. They are still barking, but it’s not about the female victims of ISIS. 

“I won’t take the bait of a patronizing call for feminists to set aside their goals in America to address problems in Muslim theocracies,” said the feminist Rebecca Brink Vipond. Are all feminists feeling the same way? Don’t all women and girls matter equally? Why should issues closer to home matter more?