Equally as evil. Yet the world cast one as the victim, one as the villain.

The way we talk about women who join Islamic State/Daesh is fundamentally different than the way we talk about the men. This is the reason why.

Yesterday, Julie Bishop told Parliament that up to 40 Australian “jihardi brides” are fighting for the Islamic State/Daesh terror group in Iraq and Syria or supporting them from Australia.

Ms Bishop says “this defies logic”, because we have all been made aware of how women are treated by Daesh – indeed the group themselves have published instructions encouraging sexual slavery, rape and beating women.

It’s estimated that approximately 550 Western women have now joined Daesh, with three young women from the UK the latest to enlist – a story which has made headlines around the world.

A report released over the weekend indicated that there are 90 Australians fighting with and supporting terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria and at least 140 people in Australia supporting extremist groups.

It would appear that both women and men are leaving Australia to join Daesh at a considerable rate.

Read more: Western women are being recruited to join Islamic State.

But it seems how we talk about these men and women is very different – and perhaps this difference even extends to how we feel about them.

When we hear about young Australian men leaving for Syria, the reports say they have been “radicalised” and they are going to join “bloodthirsty killers”. We are shown pictures of these young men in military attire with guns. In response, we are “appalled” by their action.

But when women go to join Daesh, they have been “seduced” by propaganda and “groomed” on social media sites. Their decision is confusing and “defies logic” (because they themselves are obviously confused). We worry for them. We pity them. We are fearful for them.

Even the headlines are different.

When young women go to join Daesh, you read:

And despite their apparent intentions, they are still described as “missing”, rather than having left of their own volition. And we need to find them and make sure they are returned to their families.

But, from the same publications, when a young Australian man leaves to join up, you don’t see any headlines referring to our worry or concern for his fate:

It’s straight-forward and factual. He’s not missing. He has just gone. To join “fighters”.

What is clear is that both men and women are leaving to join up with terrorist groups. They are supporting these groups and they are using all of the tools at their disposal to recruit others to their cause. And that cause is escalating and often unspeakable violence.

Yes, men may hold the guns and the knives (in the footage that we see), and the women take up domestic duties (with occasional reports of bombing), but both are actively and intentionally committing to this cause.

It is likely that what both men and women find when they arrive is not at all what they have been told or what they had expected. Both groups are being lied to. Yes, women will likely face horrendous violence when they arrive. But that has been no secret and the women who have joined have wilfully ignored these reports.

Read more: Unbelievable. ISIS releases “Official Guidelines to Rape”.

It makes no sense to pity one group of recruits and demonise another. Women are not any more susceptible to being misled than men. They are not more naive. They are equally capable of making appalling decisions.

Perhaps the consequences are worse for the women that sign up to Daesh, but that doesn’t make them less capable of making the decision to associate themselves with that group or any less responsible for their actions.

One of the most challenging things about feminism is the recognition that women are capable of the same evil and the same stupidity as men. They are capable of making the same shit decisions and they have the capacity, the agency and yes, the right, to do so.

The reporting on the so-called “jihardi brides” has been sexist. It has played into a stereotype of women being clueless pawns who are easily swayed by fancy social media. The poor things don’t know what they are in for. Unlike the young men, who have made a considered decision to enlist.

If these young men deserve your condemnation, then so do the young women. If the young women deserve your pity, then so do the young men. It is likely that, in this case, each group deserves both.