On Tuesday, 12th November 2024, from 15:30-17:00, the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT) will host a Live Briefing about the life of civilians under the governance of the Islamic State (IS).

Two keynote speakers, Dr Gina Vale and Dr Omar Mohammed, explore the governance of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organisation through the lives and words of local Iraqi, Syrian, and Kurdish civilians.

Dr Gina Vale, author of the recently released book “The Unforgotten Women of the Islamic State” (Oxford University Press, 2024), focuses on the lives and experiences of 63 local Sunni Muslim and Yazidi women under the governance of IS in Iraq and Syria. She reveals that the group conducted an intra-gender stratified system of governance that targeted particular women’s identities, bodies and voices in order to facilitate and legitimate its “caliphate” project.

Dr Omar Mohammed, author of the blog ‘Mosul Eye’ and podcast series on the Islamic State in Iraq and antisemitism, presents stories from inside the IS governance in Iraq and reflections on the challenges for local civilians to achieve reconciliation.