This research paper proposes avenues for reflection on the different discourses mobilized by media accounts of female participation in Islamic terrorism. Based on the attempted attacks by a group of women in Paris and Boussy-Saint-Antoine in September 2016, the author identifies four categories of narratives. The first emphasizes the monstrous and pathological nature of the involvement of women in jihadist organizations. The second interprets this involvement as being motivated by affect and feelings of love. The third considers that jihadist organizations have represented a last resort for women lacking a sense of direction, animated by suicidal thoughts. Finally, the fourth insists on the instrumental dimension of said “female complicity” in a terrorist undertaking. These four categories of narratives have in common that they highlight the irrational and pathological dimension of this women’s commitment in jihadist organizations. In general, they echo “standard narratives” surrounding women involved in acts of political violence in the Western world.
