The Emergence of Female Suicide Terrorists

Myths and realities of female-perpetrated terrorism.

“…Thus, the role of social relationships in the etiology of male terrorism may be nuanced. Moreover, an isolated finding from Speckhard and Akhmedova (2006) suggests that it is unwise to assume that the findings for male terrorists transfer to their female counterparts. They found that only a few of their sample of female Chechen terrorists were married and, if anything, that there was an overrepresentation of widowers who turned to terrorism for revenge.…”

“…In their review of the literature, Jacques and Taylor (2009) identified only three of 58 studies that contained any form of descriptive data. These three exceptions reported demographic data on females who were involved in specific conflicts (e.g., Chechen conflict, Speckhard & Akhmedova, 2006; Basque nationalist-separatist group Euskadi Ta Askatasuna [ETA], Hamilton, 2007) or who held specific roles within a specific conflict (e.g., Palestinian suicide bombers, Schweitzer, 2006). Moreover, of the three studies, only Hamilton (2007) considered her data against data for male terrorists, which is arguably necessary if one wishes to identify the unique etiology of female-perpetrated terrorism (cf.…”

Women on the frontline

“…The ability to conceal themselves and avoid suspicion may also make female bombers and combatants more effective and lethal combatants, further highlighting their strategic benefits (Bloom, 2012;O'Rourke, 2009;Thomas & Bond, 2015). Women are also often deployed as suicide bombers because they are expected to elicit greater public sympathy and publicity for an organization (Speckhard, 2008;Stack, 2009). This perspective suggests that rebel leaders recruit female fighters explicitly because doing so is expected to advance the group's goals.…”

“…For instance, studies of women in Central American rebellions assert that the Marxist ideologies of the FMLN, Sandinista, and Zapatista movements help explain the high prevalence of female combatants in those groups (Kampwirth, 2002;Mason, 1992;Reif, 1986;Viterna, 2013). Similarly, studies of female suicide bombers among Islamist groups such as Hamas, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, and various Chechen factions note the important role radical ideology plays in women's recruitment (Bloom, 2012;Speckhard, 2008). These studies demonstrate how both ideologies can potentially promote female recruitment; yet, they offer no systematic evidence of the comparative influence of group ideologies on the scope of women's participation.…”

The New Chechen Jihad: Militant Wahhabism as a Radical Movement and a Source of Suicide Terrorism in Post-War Chechen Society

“…The hostages from Dubrovka also were told by their hostage takers that the greatest thing for them was to die as a martyr, that they came to die and so on. 22 Likewise interviews with hostages of the Beslan takeover who spoke intensively with the hostage takers also make clear that the suicide terrorists there came to die but still could not comprehend that the Russians would consider storming a school filled with young children hostages. 23 Hence it is clear to us that the decision by Chechen terror groups to use suicide terrorism combined with mass hostage taking operations had more to do with strategy than simply giving in to despair over the belief that the Russians would not allow them to escape if they wished to live in exchange for giving their hostages life.…”