Three British schoolgirls crossed the Syrian border but they are not allowed to return. Many western girls who joined the extremist in Syria are not allowed to go back their home countries. When these girls join the extremist group they get married immediately. It is estimated that 20000 foreign fighters, out of which 5000 are European who are fighting in Syria. There is no shortage of men looking for wives. When a girl is associated with a jihadi, she is not permitted to travel without a male person. From the readings of E-book of travel advise it has come to the know that the life in Syria is extremely circumscribed with limited electricity, lack of basic medicines and practically no autonomy. Women do not fight. The lives of the girls who join jihadi is very much controlled. It was described by Ms. Sara Khan a British Muslim girl whose group inspire campaigns against the danger of extremist recruiters.
Another girl Sterlina Petalo from Holland who converted to Islam is known as Ayesha. She went to Syria last year to marry a Dutch jihadi fighter there and wanted to return home by crossing Turkish border where her mother is said to have picked her up and brought her back to the Netherlands. When she came back home, she was immediately arrested on suspicion of joining a terrorist organization.
Another woman who came out of the grip of Islamic State reconsidered after just a few weeks. She is a British woman. She had taken her toddler son all the way to Raqqa which is the group’s stronghold. She realized that she had made a mistake and called home. She came back to Turkey where she met her father. She came back to England and was detained by the police. Ms. Joana Cook, a researcher at King’s College, London who is doing research on woman and jihadis told that it is difficult to say whether other girls and women can take an independent decision to come out of Syria.
The serious question is whether the girls knew it from the beginning how limited opportunities would be for them when they once crossed the frontier.