User:Carlyabbott/Female Terrorists

The participation of females in terrorism is due to either subscribing to a certain cause or belief structure or through forced participation. They have the potential to take on multiple roles in terrorist organizations, such as a suicide bomber. Stories of women around the world show that women are motivated to become terrorists by subscribing to the cause, by need for political voice, by the want to belong to a group, by family pressure, by actual or perceived sexual deviance, or by being sold against their will into a terrorist organization

Roles of Women in Terrorist Organizations

 * Recruiters- normally women who are given the job of a recruiter are very fervent in the cause and are motivated to be there by their own will and support for the cause. In the Black Widows, a Chechen group, there was one person that recruited all of the women in the group.
 * Fighters- women are not spared from the front lines. In terrorist organizations, resources are scares; so, if one is to be in the organization they will be utilized. Women are tactically more advantageous to organizations than men are. Women are not the usual terrorist, and governments do not look at them as harmful or suspicious.
 * Couriers- the most common job for women is to be couriers. They will take messages, from one location to another without being extremely harassed or searched. This happens because it is a social norm to give women more privacy than men. In a common restroom, women receive their own stall, but most men’s restrooms just have standing urinals. It is also true for when someone is being searched at a security checkpoint; officials have a different level of scrutiny for men and women.

The Media and Reporting
The media covers every terrorist attack that a female is involved in significantly more than any attack by a man. There is an extra shock factor to crimes committed by females over males. Women have a perception of trust and safety about their gender that is a universal social norm. The media plays off this misconception to sell more newspapers and ads.

Female Suicide bombers
As mentioned above women are tactically more effective at terrorism because of their perceived safe demeanor. This makes them more useful to the leader of the terrorist organization. Pregnant suicide bombers are more prevalent than the typical way in which men strap bombs to themselves. Fake bellies have more space to carry more without being caught; thus, maximizing their capacity for harm. A new common tactic that is being use by terrorist organizations is for women to carry explosives around their midsection and have the perception of being pregnant. The pregnant suicide bomber is more deadly than any other attack because even though she is the threat; she gives off the perception of needing protection for her and her child.

Significant Organizations with Women

 * Chechen Black Widows- This group is made up of women who have had one or more loved ones killed by the Russian government. Typically, the loved one is their husband, or father, that was a revolutionist for the state of Chechnya during their Civil Wars. These women are called ‘black widows’ because the female black widow spiders kill their mates. These Chechen women are becoming terrorists and killing because of their mate’s death. The main strategic model that these women use is suicide bombing. Some reports by journalists have shown that these women sometimes come to the group from believing in the cause, but others join because they have no other option in life. These women who see this way of life as their only option are drawn to the organization because they were raped by Russian troops. In a culture that is orthodox Islam sexual transgressions, even if they were not wanted, is a huge social offence. Women lose all of their potential partners. In a Muslim society, the social status of a woman is defined by her relationship to the men in her life. Therefore, women who have been raped are lead to the decision of joining terrorist organizations.
 * LTTE- These were some elite trained women of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam, a group that sought for the independent state of Tamil. Inside the LTTE they were called the “Suthan thirap Paravaikal”, or in English “Freedom Birds”. Their story is similar to the Chechen Black Widows in the fact that some of these women were radicalized because of being raped by opposing forces. This group has successfully killed Presidents and Prime Ministers.
 * ETA “Euskadi Ta Askatasuna” women- This is the nationalist movement in Spain of the ethnic Basque minority. Women in the ETA were very prevalent in leadership activities and the planning of the whole group’s activities. Dolores Gonzalez Catarain was the first to rise to power by becoming a member of the executive committee.
 * IRA- Women in the Irish Republic Army were organizers and recruiters. Many staged political protests from prison, and were commonly known to lure British soldiers to their deaths.

Notable female terrorists

 * Leila Khaled-PFLP
 * Ahlam at Tamimi- Hamas
 * Ekaterina Breshkerskia- Army Knight (Russia)
 * Margherita Cagol- Italian Red Brigades
 * Ulrike Meinhof- Red Army Faction