This paper examines youth involvement in violent extremist groups in Mali, challenging common stereotypes that portray young recruits as unemployed, idle, or religiously fanatical. Drawing on interviews with more than 60 former members of armed jihadist groups - a rare source of empirical insight in the Malian context - the study questions conventional assumptions about the drivers of youth radicalization and the roles young people play in these groups.
Although not focused centrally on gender, the paper notes the limited visibility of women and girls in existing research and in local understandings of violent extremism. Interviewees described women as primarily victims, but also as cooks and informants for armed groups, indicating a broader - though still understudied - range of involvement. The authors emphasize the need for gender-responsive psychosocial rehabilitation programmes to ensure that the specific needs of women and girls, including those who became mothers during or after their involvement, are not overlooked. The paper does not examine gender ideologies among male interviewees.
*The research that underlies this policy brief was collaboratively undertaken by the authors - Lori-Anne Théroux-Bénoni, William Assanvo, Ibrahim Maïga, Jeannine Ella A Abatan, Fatimata Ba, Patrick Olivier Gnonsekan, Aïssatou Kanté, Kadiatou Yacouba Keïta, Wendyam Aristide Sawadogo - along with Modibo Galy Cissé, Aboubacar Diallo, Bréma Ély Dicko, Amadou dit Samba Cissé, Yacouba Dogoni, Fodié Tandjigora and Aly Tounkara.