Women who choose to engage in terrorism have been the subjects of a growing body of literature. The approach and focus of which has been varied, including contributions from a range of academic fields. Gender is significant to understanding female violence because it is atypical to the traditional conceptualisation of violence and war. There is an obvious juncture in the feminist understanding of this topic as identified by Jacques and Taylor (2009). For them, there are two distinct ways that female terrorists and the intrinsic link to gender have been understood (Jacques and Taylor, 2009: 505). On one hand, there are those that view a women’s role in terrorism as strategic. It is seen as an effective tactic as it exploits the target states’ gender stereotypes (Laster and Erez, 2015, Bloom, 2005). Nacos (2005) views the narratives attributed to female terrorists as a tactical choice used to exploit the target state’s inherent gender biases to further terrorist agendas (2005: 448). The main purpose of this work is to encourage policy makers to take these depictions into account when creating counter terrorism measures and to be aware of the use of females as a tactic. This is similar to the work of O’Rourke (2009) who endeavours to show the strategic benefits of female suicide terrorism. Through the comparison of terrorist groups that both have and don’t have women among their ranks, she highlights the strategic advantages of employing women (O’Rourke, 2009: 684). From
Emerged. With that being, female terrorist are not new to the history of terrorism. Women were victims, participants, and witnesses in the French terrorism. Women roles in terrorism were even active in the nineteenth century that was in Russia. More than 10,000 women actually joined the ranks of the national liberation front, that was in the Algerian war from 1954 to 1962, women also played many leading roles in revolutionary terrorism, and that surged to their representation in western revolutionary groups. In fact, religious terrorists are still actively recruiting women today. Women seem to be recruited in many organizations, which are because
Security measures drastically increased after 9/11. 9/11 was an act of terrorism that would change the way the country handled privacy. Americans needed to voice their opinions after this happened and have their own rights protected. The need to protect individual rights is the utmost important aspect in a thriving U.S. society.
“Terrorism's particularly heinous but highly attractive means to achieve political objectives or even radically restructure political foundations is manifest within societies in all reaches of the world. While the practical application of terrorist methodologies comes across as a relatively straightforward craft, the conceptual and ideological understanding, and subsequent evaluation of its socio-political influence, implementation, and psychological impacts present difficult questions, and in some cases conceivably insurmountable obstacles” (Romaniuk 2014, para
Terrorism has no gender. Although most terrorists written about in social media are men, such as Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, female terrorists do exist across the globe. The George Washington University’s Program alone profiled twenty-five American women who have conspired with terrorist organizations. These women can be a variety of ages and have been known to travel outside of the United Sates to help support the terrorist group that recruited them (Dedman). Typically, women are recruited by social media or in person through manipulation and false promises. One example of a female terrorist is Sally Jones, who was notoriously known as the White Widow. Jones wreaked havoc across the United Kingdom, threatening citizens with terrorist attacks on
National terrorism has been the focus of attention since September 11. But now domestic terrorism is becoming increasingly common among hate groups across the nation. Domestic terrorism can be defined as visible crime, or “street crime.” These acts would consist of violent crimes, (acts against people in which injury or death results) property crimes (acts that threaten property held by individuals or the state) and public order crimes. (acts that threaten the general well-being of society and challenger accepted moral principles) It can also however be described as political crime, (criminal acts by or against the government for ideological purposes) which would include the 9/11 and the Oklahoma City bombing.
terrorism through an examination of female criminal participation within domestic terrorism. These beliefs, often rooted in gendered stereotypes, have greatly influenced U.S. terrorism policy and need to be empirically examined in order to increase our understanding of women in terrorism and aid in the development of better counterterrorism strategies. The focus on criminal participation, and actual participation in the criminal acts, is particularly important because it allows for testing these beliefs regarding women’s involvement in terrorism through an examination of individual acts. While it can be argued that simply belonging to a terrorist group is in itself
The emphasis of counterterrorism policy in the United States since Al Qaeda’s attacks of September 11, 2001 has been on jihadist terrorism. However, in the last decade, domestic terrorists have killed American citizens and damaged property across the country. Not all of these criminals have been prosecuted under terrorism charges. This is not meant to imply that domestic terrorists should be taken any less seriously than other terrorists.
The number of woman suicide bombers has increased since the official first case of 2002, in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Whether the purpose of the fights is for independence, recognition, or religious ideology, woman are now being seen as having a critical part in the act of war and they are actively being recruited and trained. As shocking as it may seem, they are prepared to use the utmost violence to achieve their aims.
From a tactical standpoint, women attract less suspicion than men and may be subject to less security procedures, allowing women to procure material and equipment for an attack, conduct surveillance or a target, obtain close proximity to a target in order to conduct an attack. (25) Additionally, women’s clothing and accessories allow women to discreetly hide materials, including propaganda, equipment, or suicide vest and improvised explosive devices. For example, women have concealed bombs under their clothing by feigning pregnancy. (Bloom, 2011) From a strategic perspective, women’s involvement in terrorism results in significant media attention and shock value, enhancing propaganda objectives for a terrorist organization. Some experts believe that the use of female suicide bombers enhances the recruitment of men, who become shamed into participating after they see a women become a martyr.
On November 9th 2016, Donald Trump was declared the president-elect of the United States. This announcement was quickly followed by mass protests in the streets. Citizens were outraged that a candidate, whose entire platform had relied on racist and misogynistic rhetoric, could win the presidency despite losing the popular vote. The protestor’s concerns are well founded. In the last year he has promised to create a Muslim registry, forcefully deport millions of people from the country, revoke citizenship rights, as well as implement other disturbing policies. There is an inherently fascistic and totalitarian element in Trump’s campaign which should influence a closer study into the history, creation, and continuation of different forms of political terror.
Since the women’s liberation movement of the 1960s and “Burn our Bras” women have fought for their cause of equal rights. It should also be assumed that parallel ideas exist as it pertains to becoming a terrorist. If a woman holds the same extremist values as her male counterpart, she has the potential to be a more effective terrorist. Women are underestimated, misrepresented, and understudied. Historically, women have always been in the background of terrorist activities. The most substantial of their services is giving birth to future fighters. Women have progressed to become active participants in terrorism as a means to support their cause.
Yes the use of a female attacker or terrorist differs from the use of a male in many ways as a female terrorist tend to be better at recruiting, and spying, People tend to look at women as the victim instead of being a criminal or a terrorist. Women are more effective than men at carrying out a terrorist attack. They generate less suspicion; they are better able to conceal explosives; and they are subjected to more relaxed security measures.
The history of terrorism can be traced back as far as the French revolution. Some of these acts of terrorism only seem as distant reminders of our past, but at the same time, are not a far cry from today’s brutal acts; and although these acts seem distant, it doesn’t also mean they are no longer in the thoughts of individuals in today’s time.
Think of the word terrorism. What is the first thing that comes to mind? One might think of kidnapping, assassination, bombing, or even genocide and guerrilla warfare. Because it is such a broad and complex issue, an all-encompassing definition is hard to formulate. The United States Department of Defence defines terrorism as…
The immediacy and the primacy of any truly potent force is the ability to perpetuate itself. Sharp and energetic outbursts have their place, and can be known to have great effect-cataclysmic forces, despite their maximum destructive potential, are temporary in their total effects in relation to some absolute goal. In other words, they are generally limited in scope, and well defined in purpose; there is a tactical objective, which is usually consummated quickly. The more dreaded force creeps along, escalating incrementally, and while it may abide a strategic goal, or even a policy, it is generally open-ended. This sort of ambiguity I am referring to differs from the flexible tactical necessity in that strategic outcomes are very much