34 Pakistan Journal of Criminology Volume 8, No.3. July 2016, pp. 34-57 Susceptibility to Radicalization: A Case Study of Young Women in District Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan 1 Syed Sami Raza, Ghazala Rafi & Hassan Shah Abstract Dera Ismail Khan (D.I.Khan) has been a peaceful district for long time until the War on Terror began in 2001. Peaceful co-existence of diverse ethnic and religious communities was first harmed by both sectarianism and terrorism. As a result youth were among the most affected member of the society. We carried out a survey in the district to gather empirical evidence regarding youth‘s susceptibility to radicalization. We noticed an interesting aspect of this radicalization i.e., that young women were relatively more radicalized than young men. In this article we present the empirical evidence that demonstrates that young women in D.I. Khan are more susceptible or vulnerable to radicalization than young men. We also throw light on the socio-political conditions that make women susceptible to radicalization. Keywords: Susceptibility, Radicalization, Young, Women, Dera Ismail Khan Introduction Geographically, D.I. Khan enjoys a unique position as it abuts on the Punjab province to the east, and South Waziristan tribal agency and Tank district in the west. In the north it borders with Bannu and Laki Marwat districts, and in the south it shares border with Balochistan province. However, its strategic location has lately become a challenge to peace in society. In the wake of the War on Terror, especially the operations in South Waziristan, D.I. Khan became one of the most geo-strategically and security- wise crucial districts of Pakistan. Its very geography made it crucial to national and local security plans. Moreover, its diverse demography but troubled socio-economic conditions ostensibly made D.I. Khan crucial ground to fight the War on Terror. As the War on Terror prolonged, its violent effects began to emerge in both the tribal areas and settled districts of KP. For D.I. Khan the violent effects become visible by 2007, and by next year, D.I. Khan became one of 1 The Authors would like to thank UNDP for providing funding to carry out fieldwork for this article. The funds were provided under the program Youth & Social Cohesion.