A document has been published online by Islamic State's supporters in Syria and Iraq giving an insight into the way it treats women.
Photo: AFP
Published online in Arabic by female IS supporters calling themselves the Khansaa Brigades, the document was aimed at attracting female recruits from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, and set out to answer questions and debunk myths.
It has been translated by a London-based counter-extremist think-tank, Quilliam.
"It is considered legitimate for a girl to be married at the age of nine," the group said in the document.
"Most pure girls will be married by 16 or 17.
"From this time onwards, she should remain hidden from view, supporting the Caliphate from behind closed doors."
It said women should be educated, especially about all aspects of the Islamic religion, but only from the ages of seven to 15.
The Western model of emancipated women leaving the house to work had failed, with women "gaining nothing from the idea of equality with men apart from thorns", the document said.
Fashion boutiques and beauty salons were the work of the devil, it said.
Women were believed to account for about 10 percent of the thousands of foreign recruits who crossed the Turkish border to join IS.
- BBC
