The Unexpected Terrorist: The Roles of Women as Perpetrators ofTerrorism

Abstract

Introduction:

Recently, many reports have shown that women have been the perpetrators of acts or of terrorism are being actively recruited by terrorist organizations. Female-initiated terrorist attacks have occurred in India, Iraq, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Chechnya, and Jordan. Achieving a better understanding of women who become supporters or perpetrators of terrorist acts can assist in planning, preparing, and deterring terrorist attacks, and minimizing the morbidity and mortality from these events.

Methods:

A review of scientific, medical, and academic literature pertaining to women and terrorist activities was performed. In addition, government reports and media accounts of terrorist attacks where women were direcdy or centrally involved as perpetrators were collected and reviewed. Common elements, themes, and similarities were analyzed to determine trends in terrorist activities involving women as perpetrators, planners, facilitators, and active supporters of specific terrorist incidents.

Results:

A variety of factors that influence women into participating in terrorist activities have been discussed by various authors and researchers. In addition to coordinating and participating in terrorist attacks, there have been several additional areas of involvement of women in support of domestic and international terrorism, as well as specific tactical reasons tliat terrorist organizations seek out vulnerable women to exploit and recruit into roles within their organizations.

Conclusions:

A greater understanding of the psychosocial, behavioral, and socio-economic factors that influence women to become active supporters, facilitators and/or perpetrators of terrorist acts across the globe is essential to mitigating these incidents and protecting the health and safety of the public. Further research is needed to explore methods to identify women who may be vulnerable to recruitment by terrorist groups, in order to attempt to prevent the extent of these attacks on nations across the globe.