Trial of French IS returnee highlights a growing focus on the women who came back

Radia Tahar Aouidate, also known as Selma, is a French woman who returned from territory controlled by the Islamic State. She appeared before the special terrorist court in Paris. Her case reflects growing legal attention on women who travelled to Syria or Iraq and later came back to France.

Prosecutors accuse her of participating in a terrorist criminal conspiracy through her involvement with the Islamic State from 2014 to 2020. She is also charged with recruiting another person. Her own account described a family dominated by her brother, Fodil, whom she called its “guru.”

Tahar Aouidate said Fodil pressured relatives to leave for Syria. She was married there to a Tunisian Islamic State fighter and had two children. The court case could bring a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, while her children are now under French state care.

In this context, “revenante” is the French word used for a woman who went to Syria or Iraq to join a terrorist organisation, including the Islamic State, and later returned to France. It describes both her travel history and her return to French territory.

The label matters because these women can face prosecution after coming back. Their cases are heard by France’s special court for terrorism cases. Radia Tahar Aouidate is described as a revenante because she travelled to Syria in 2014 and later returned to France.

Women now make up a growing share of the court’s work involving Islamic State returnees. The article reports that 176 of the 395 adults who returned were women. It also says 18 of the 23 terrorism cases scheduled for the special court this year involve female returnees.

Nearly 1,500 French nationals travelled to Syria or Iraq to join terrorist organisations, including the Islamic State. The number shows the scale of France’s foreign-fighter problem during the period when the group controlled territory in the region.

Women accounted for nearly one-third of those travellers. Their return rate was proportionally higher than men’s. The latest figures cited from France’s National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office show that 176 women were among the 395 adults who came back to France.

These figures help explain the courts’ changing focus. Fifty-six of the women who returned have been convicted by the special court. Of the 23 terrorism cases scheduled there this year, 18 involve female returnees, as major terrorist attacks and attempted attacks have already been tried.

French courts are increasingly trying women who returned from Islamic State territory because they form a substantial part of the adult returnee population. Women accounted for nearly one-third of French nationals who travelled to the region, and proportionally more women returned to France.

The court’s attention has also shifted as the principal terrorist attacks and attempted attacks have been tried. Female returnees now make up many of the remaining cases before the special court. Radia Tahar Aouidate’s trial is one example, involving alleged Islamic State participation and recruitment.

The figures show the scale of this change. Of 395 adults who returned, 176 were women. Fifty-six women have been convicted by the special court. This year, 18 of the 23 scheduled terrorism cases involve female returnees, making their prosecutions a major part of current proceedings.

Returnees can face prosecution before France’s special court for terrorist cases. The charges may include participating in a terrorist criminal conspiracy and recruiting another person. Radia Tahar Aouidate faces those allegations over her Islamic State involvement and could receive up to 30 years in prison.

The consequences can also affect children born during time in Syria. Tahar Aouidate gave birth there after being married to a Tunisian Islamic State fighter. Her two children, now aged nine and 11, are currently under the care of the French state.

The article reports that giving birth in Syria was common among the female returnees whose cases were heard by the special courts in 2026. Eighty-six percent of 22 women in that group had given birth there. The cases therefore involve both criminal responsibility and children’s welfare.

Family networks could make radicalisation a collective decision rather than an individual one. In Tahar Aouidate’s family, she described the household as “a cult.” Her brother Fodil acted as its “guru,” exercising “absolute” authority over eight sisters with their mother’s approval.

According to her account, Fodil began pressuring relatives to travel to Syria in late 2013. Between May and September 2014, 23 family members left Roubaix. They included her parents, six sisters, their husbands and children. Tahar Aouidate was also married off by her brother to a Tunisian Islamic State fighter.

This example shows how authority, pressure and family approval could reinforce recruitment. Even Fodil’s surveillance by French authorities did not prevent his departure in June 2014. The family’s movements demonstrate how one influential relative could help mobilise a large group toward the Islamic State.

The Islamic State, or IS, was a terrorist armed group that controlled territory in Syria and Iraq during the 2010s. It sought to build and govern a self-declared Islamic state, attracting supporters from outside the region. The source identifies it as the organisation joined by the French families discussed here.

Foreign recruits were drawn by the group’s propaganda, claims of religious purpose, and promise of belonging within its territory. Some people also travelled through family or social networks. In the article’s central example, Fodil pressured relatives to go, and 23 members of one French family eventually travelled to Syria.

The consequences continued after the group’s territorial control declined. Some French nationals returned and now face terrorism trials. Women represent nearly one-third of those who travelled, and 176 of the 395 adults who returned were women. Their prosecutions now form a growing part of France’s terrorism caseload.