The female terrorist

In recent decades the female terrorist has played an important stategic role in suicide terrorism across the regions Afghanistan, India, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Pakistan, Russia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and Uzbekistan. They have been effective in causing injury and death, more so than there their male counterparts because women generate less suspicion; they are better able to conceal explosives; and they are subjected to more relaxed security
measures.

Women do not conform to the sterotype terrorist as the Western world perceives. Some British reports have woman concealing large amounts of explosives under loose fitting clothing and a 2003 russian investigative report, Kommersant-Vlast, revealed that a female suicide bomber easily avoids public suspicion.

“The terrorists know there are sensitivities about making intimate body searches of women, particularly Muslim women, and thus you can see why some groups might be planning to use a female bomber. Hiding explosives in an intimate part of the body means even less chance of detection.”

- Mia Bloom, “Mother, Daughter, Sister, Bomber,” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (November/December 2005).

Terror groups realise the advantage of using females to avoid counterterrorism measures. These would be the Syrian Socialist National Party (SSNP) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka; the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) in Turkey; Chechen separatist groups such as Riyadh-as-Saliheen in Russia; insurgents in Iraq; Al- Qaeda in Somalia; the Islamic Jihad Group in Uzbekistan; Kashmiri insurgents in India; Afghan and Pakistani militants; Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade in Palestine.

Chechnya’s notorious “Black Widows” have been active since June 7, 2000 when the first Chechen female suicide bombers, Khava Barayeva, cousin of well-known Chechen field commander Arbi Barayev, and Luisa Magomadova drove a truck filled with explosives into the temporary headquarters of an elite OMON (Russian Special Forces) detachment in the village of Alkhan Yurt in Chechnya

Black Widows: The Chechen Female Suicide Terrorists, Anne Speckhard and Khapta Akhmedova.

Now what are the motives behind the actions of Samantha Lewthwaite. A reports attempt to explain what she did and how she did it but not WHY. Is it for revenge, money or something else. Regardless she is now the new poster child for terrorism. The Telegraph
BBC News

Further Reading.
What’s Special about Female Suicide Terrorism?,LINDSEY A. O’ROURKE

Black Widows: The Chechen Female Suicide Terrorists, Anne Speckhard and Khapta Akhmedova

The Rising Importance of Women in Terrorism and the Need to Reform Counterterrorism Strategy: A Monograph by MAJ Marne L. Sutten, 2009

But the REAL question is: WHAT DO THEY PROMISE THESE FEMALE BOMBERS?
I'm guessing 72 ABERCROMBIE MODELS oughta do the trick...

reply to post by MadHatter364


I was thinking the same thing. What's their motivation? Surely they don't care to have virgins (or to be one of the virgins), but I'm not sure if models are what they want either. I'd think of something more that women would prize, like being really great looking, true power, for me (not typical female) to be a great distance runner.

reply to post by Tindalos2013


Women are not always out for the glory or sex as some of the sex starved men are who represent the Jihadist Muslim faith. Many are principled based; whether ideology or revenge motivated, IMO.

If a family member or loved one were injured by some outside force that would be all it would take to seek revenge. Most do not have the means or contacts to make a revenge plan though. Explosive Breast implants or other explosives hidden inside the body has/have been discussed by those who are tasked with defending against a female terrorist. Yet, if they pull out a female for more intense groping or searching and she is not what they seek all hell breaks loose..

Actually if you look at it from a terrorist world view they are the perfect small weapon platform.. They just captured a 3 year old with 14 bags of pot according to Drudge... newyork.cbslocal.com... which would also be an easy small weapons platform for those who believe the end justifies the means.

Many militaries of the world have women who are willing to fight and die for their country with no promise of anything but a pay check and serving their countries goals; not to much of a stretch to imagine other women would do the same.. The big saving grace..... women are chattel in many of the societies... Uneducated and are there to please and serve the family or the husband.. not allot of opportunity to get out and about... maybe a good thing for this scenario, No?

Scoped out these for some answers for the motivations of the female terrorist.

Personal motivations

A more widespread assumption in the literature on female terrorism seems to be that most women who become involved with terrorist organizations do so for personal reasons. One example of this would be a woman’s relationship with a man within the organization although, more often, female terrorists seem to be motivated to avenge some personal tragedy, such as having been raped, or the death of a family member

socialcosmos.library.uu.nl...

Factors that motivate women to become suicide bombers
Radicalization is largely a gender-neutral process and is usually in response to some combination of economic, political, and social factors, including economic conditions, lack of political rights, or military occupation. Added stressors and psychological factors can transform a radical into a terrorist and, in the most serious cases, into a suicide terrorist.
For women, the impetuses that drive the motivation to carry out a suicide attack are often unique to the experience of females in conflict scenarios. One unique impetus is the loss of feminine honor and the desire to redeem it.

Feminine honor

Both Dr. Anat Berko of the International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism and Lindsey O’Rourke from the University of Chicago note that the idea of the female body as a symbol of honor is a longstanding notion in many communities, particularly as it relates to a woman’s perceived sexual purity. While this concept has lost salience in most areas of the world, there are some places—particularly in more conservative Middle Eastern and South Asian communities—that continue to take sexual purity very seriously.
If a woman’s honor is compromised through a violation of this purity, such as sex out of wedlock or being a rape victim, the shame is not only placed on her but also extended to her family. Suicide terrorism, frequently viewed by radicals as a form of martyrdom, is seen as a way to gain redemption and restore that honor.

www.americanprogress.org...

reply to post by 727Sky


Thanks for your post. You highlighted a real concern, the lack of education and the constant re-enforcing of women being oppressed in their own culture via fear and violence. Although if one is out for just pure revenge then those things do not matter. We are then dealing with an emotional response.

My guess for motivation would be that they do it subconsciously in response to the gender inequality. It's kind of how how the women's suffrage movement in the U.S. and prohibition were uniquely tied until it's passage. It might not be easy to understand from the context of Western thought but that would be my guess.

You live in a place where every movement is controlled by men and the importance of your existence rests solely on your ability as a fertility vessel. Then comes the opportunity to fight alongside the men against the bad guys on equal footing. You are no longer a woman but rather a walking weapon of god. Which had you rather be? A weapon of god or a vessel of men?

It could also be that the women are in relationships with men that are in the movement so they just go with the teachings of those men. One of two. It could just be they are suicidal groupies.