# WaiDai

Why people join extremist groups?

Many of those people who join and support these movements have borne the brunt of decades of state corruption, poor governance, repressive regimes, and poor development policies. Although they come from various socio-economic classes, they have witnessed or experienced rising inequality and absence of opportunity to live dignified lives . From Pakistan to Yemen, violence has worsened this structural injustice, and military actions have fueled a sense of outrage.

These extremist movements offer values and principles, basic services, and sense of community. They use political, moral, religious, and social discourses to support their agendas. The fast-paced political transitions in the region and subsequent state of instability have provided key opportunities for movements to enter and spread their ideologies in to the vacuums left by years of corruption and collapsing dictatorships. The attraction and rationale for supporting or joining such movements are more complex than simple antagonism towards the West. (http://www.icanpeacework.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Women-Religious-Extremism.pdf).