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Education beyond the classroom: mobilizing

against radicalization and recruitment

Edit Schlaffer, Women without Borders, Vienna

here is a global wake-up call surrounding the current

counter violent extremism (CVE) efforts; even mili-

tary strategists are alarmed. The investment in

counter insurgencies and direct military intervention has

not produced the intended outcomes and, in consequence,

has resulted in a backlash. Most worrisome, civil society

in countries targeted by violent extremism tends to be

increasingly hostile towards the West, losing allies instead

of winning hearts and minds. And this is exactly from

where we have to pick up the pieces. We have to invest in

the communities to gain trust, and strengthen their confi-

dence in making a difference right there where they are in

their families and communities. Travelling through regions

targeted by violent extremism, it became obvious that fami-

lies need to come together and build resilience from the

ground up. The family, and mothers in particular, have

an important role to play in creating the social fabric that

is resistant to radical influences. Mothers are the missing

building block in a new, effective security architecture. For

this they need to be prepared and equipped.

The Mothers School model serves this urgent security need.

It provides a pioneering family-centred security platform,

aiming to strengthen the existing CVE approach by engag-

ing an underutilized group of civil society actors: mothers.

Developed and implemented by Women without Borders/

Sisters Against Violent Extremism (SAVE), Mothers Schools

provide women with the confidence and competence to

combat radicalization within their homes and communi-

ties. The approach seeks to include mothers as a grass-roots

security ally and arms them with the necessary skills and

knowledge to be an effective barrier between their children

and extremist ideologies. The curriculum optimizes women’s

smart power, emphasizing and strengthening their capacity

for constructive dialogue, empathy and intuitive safeguarding

of their children.

Based on the findings of the Women without Borders

‘Mothers for Change!’ (MFC) study, which explored the

insights of over 1,000 women across Pakistan, Nigeria,

Northern Ireland, Israel and Palestine on the sources and

solutions to violent extremism, the Mothers School model

Image: Women without Borders/SAVE

Mothers Schools have been implemented in communities at risk across Tajikistan, India/Kashmir, Pakistan, Indonesia, Nigeria and Zanzibar

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