It also envisions an education system in which girls complete their formal schooling by age 15.
When it comes to higher education, the manifesto portrays Muslim women who seek "worldly" knowledge—instead of knowledge of the Shari'ah, or Islamic law—as being dupes of Western civilization. "Because of this, a woman studies these worthless worldly sciences in the farthest mountains and the deepest valleys," the manifesto continues. "She travels, intent upon learning Western lifestyle and sitting in the midst of another culture, to study the brain cells of crows, grains of sand and the arteries of fish!" It would be more appropriate, the document says, for Muslim women to study fiqh: Islamic jurisprudence and understanding of the Shariah. "Hence, there is with no need for her to flit here and there to get degrees and so on, just so she can try to prove that her intelligence is greater than a man’s."
Only under "exceptional circumstances," the manifesto says, should women pursue things outside of the home. Such circumstances include jihad, as long as religious leaders issue an edict for women to do so and there are not enough men around to protect the country from enemy attack. In some cases, women may also leave the home if they are doctors and teachers—or if they are leaving to study theology—but only if they "keep strictly to Shariah guidelines."
Ultimately, "It is always preferable for a woman to remain hidden and veiled, to maintain society from behind this veil," the document states. "This, which is always the most difficult role, is akin to that of a director, the most important person in a media production, who is behind the scenes organising."
The manifesto also includes a portion in which it looks at "case studies," scenarios that paint positive pictures of life as a woman in ISIS-controlled territory. It shows, for example, how women have the right to sell their wares in the marketplace and voice their concerns on matters of divorce and inheritance in the courts. It also demonstrates that women enjoy access to monies from ISIS coffers by means of a "Zakat chamber" in order to ensure livelihoods for themselves and their children. (Zakat is the Arabic word for alms or charity and is one of the fundamental pillars of Islam.)
Criminals do not assail women, the document says, for fear of the consequences from ISIS enforcers: "Now, women can wander in souqs and go on pilgrimage without falling foul of criminals, because the perpetrators would face painful punishments." On a similar note, the manifesto also encourages men to criticize and "vilify" other men who beat their wives.
But Quilliam’s Winter—the researcher who translated and analyzed the manifesto—says it must be seen as "a piece of propaganda; the portions that deal with the "reality" of life in the Islamic State are "undoubtedly exaggerated," he writes. "They are designed as recruitment tools for women, specifically for those living within the region."