Women, Minors and Families Affiliated with Terrorist Groups: Reintegration and Peacebuilding in Morocco

This chapter categorizes typologies of children and women and highlights the challenges of repatriation, rehabilitation, and reintegration of Moroccan women and minors who joined terrorist organizations in conflict areas, especially the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Syria and Iraq (ISIS), later known under the name Islamic State (IS). The chapter relies on official data from the parliamentary exploratory mission investigating the situation of Moroccan citizens in conflict areas, supplemented by unofficial data from the National Coordination of Moroccans Detained and Blocked in Iraq and Syria, which helped identify the statistics, profiles, conditions, and needs. It discusses the perceptions of the concerned groups based on case studies from interviews with three families, who are reflecting on the dynamics of collective engagement and its impact on orphaned and minor children left behind in orphanages, prisons, and camps in the region. Additionally, the chapter discusses the limits of the “Moussalaha” (Reconciliation) de-radicalization program and the efforts of the Mohammed VI Foundation for Reintegration to overcome educational difficulties and psychological trauma in order to provide professional and social support and counter stigma. The chapter concludes that the reintegration challenge remains unresolved, marked by stagnant efforts and an absence of a cohesive vision or comprehensive framework encompassing all pertinent institutions and civil entities, particularly in terms of the integration related to peacebuilding dimension into the reintegration process.