What is an ISIS bride — and why have they sparked political divide in Australia?

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has stated the Government will provide no support for the repatriation of a group of 34 Australian women and their children stranded in Syria.

The group of women, known as the 'ISIS brides’, were left in the Al-Roj camp in north-eastern Syria last week after a failed attempt to flee the area.

Now, their future remains undecided.

The background

From 2013 to 2019, a group of women, some with children, travelled to Syria for their husbands who had joined ISIS and were dubbed the brides of Islamic State fighters.

For years to follow, these women and their children supported the men they had followed into war, until the Islamic State regime’s defeat in 2019.

The Al-Roj detention camp, where the women and children had been stationed, was taken over by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who have controlled he camp since.

Albanese’s response

During Albanese’s first term in office, on October 29, 2022, 17 Australian women and children were brought home from Syria.

Former New South Wales Labor Senator Kristina Keneally stated the government had paid “careful attention” to the safe repatriation of the 17 women and children who were brought back.

Fast forward to 2026, and the Australian Government has ruled out any chance of facilitating the repatriation of the Australian women and children stuck in Syria.

Albanese said they had “made their bed” and now “must lie in it”.

These women are Australian citizens and within their rights to return to Australia.

However, given the state of control that Kurdish forces possess over the Al-Roj camp and the reluctance of the Australian Government to assist, this has become a difficult process.

The politics

Amy Remeikis, chief political analyst at the Australia Institute, says the Government’s decision not to support the repatriation of the Australians is a "purely political move".

“This particular case has become a big political flashpoint because the political situation that we’re in right now is fraught around migration, but also around any sort of Islamic terror,” Remeikis says.

A Roy Morgan poll found that 29 per cent of Australians blame Prime Minister Albanese for the surge in terrorist/extremist attacks in Australia.

Poll responses included the idea that Albanese is “a weak leader” and that he “ignores warnings [of terrorism]”.

Remeikis says the Government is attempting to present itself as a centrist amid the rise in popularity of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation.

Newspoll found that support for Labor is diminishing, while support for One Nation is seven points ahead of the Coalition.

“They are trying to fight off the rise of people turning to One Nation ... and the Australians in Syria are paying the price,” Remeikis says.

In response to claims these women may be dangerous or have committed crimes during their time in Syria, Remeikis says if there is a case for the women to answer to, "have them answer under Australian law”.

“Allowing the women and children to return to Australia is not giving them a free pass from legal obligations; it just means they would be investigated under Australian law.”

Many organisations rallying for the repatriation of the group share this sentiment, as the women and children's mental, emotional and physical health and safety hang in the balance.

A spokesperson for Save the Children says the organisation “understands the fears that have been shared by people in the community, but ... that risk is not going to be mitigated by leaving them in northeast Syria.”

“The best way to mitigate any potential risk is to have faith in our judicial system, our law enforcement system, our national security system and address that risk in Australia,” the spokesperson says.

“Their deteriorating mental and physical condition has been exacerbated by the Australian Government’s failure to repatriate them earlier, effectively denying them the support and medical attention they desperately need.”

The children stranded in the Al-Roj camp had their living conditions described as "deplorable".

Remeikis said: “They could be killed, they can completely disappear, and continue to suffer in being made stateless.

"That is not what Australia is supposed to stand for.”