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Women in Modern Terrorism

From Liberation Wars to Global Jihad and the Islamic State

Jessica Davis

Recent events, including the rise of the Islamic State and its overt recruitment of Western women, have once again brought the issue of women participating in terrorist organizations to the forefront. Yet much remains to be understood about why women join terrorist organizations and why groups choose to incorporate them into their structures and operations. Women in Modern Terrorism, which draws from a unique dataset compiled over a decade, tackles these questions and analyzes women’s inclusion in terrorist organizations since the beginning of modern terrorism, covering both religious and ethno-nationalist terrorism and conflict.

The text opens with a discussion of the definition of terrorism before examining key issues, such as how and why women join terrorist groups, what women’s inclusion in terrorist organizations reveals about the nature and longevity of both the groups and the conflicts, the future of women’s role in terrorist organizations and attacks (particularly given the rise of new terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq), and the types of attacks women perpetrate and how they compare across groups. By looking at case studies, including Hizballah, Chechnya, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram, Al Shaabab, and more, this text shows that women’s inclusion in various terrorist organizations is largely a pragmatic choice by the group. It also highlights the cross-pollination of ideas between differently motivated groups. All these issues, along with the role of the media and the Internet in radicalization and recruitment processes, are explored to provide an exhaustive account of the many roles for women in terrorist groups today.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 192 • Trim: 6¼ x 9¼

978-1-4422-7497-6 • Hardback • January 2017 • $97.00 • (£75.00)

978-1-4422-7498-3 • Paperback • January 2017 • $50.00 • (£38.00)

978-1-4422-7499-0 • eBook • January 2017 • $47.50 • (£37.00)

Subjects: Political Science / Terrorism, Political Science / World / Middle Eastern, Social Science / Women's Studies

Courses: Political Science; Security; Terrorism, Political Science; International Relations; Terrorism & Political Violence, Political Science; Security; Counterterrorism, Sociology; Social Problems; Violence & Terrorism, Political Science; Security; International Security, Political Science; Security; Intelligence

Women in Modern Terrorism

From Liberation Wars to Global Jihad and the Islamic State

Hardback

Paperback

eBook

Summary

Recent events, including the rise of the Islamic State and its overt recruitment of Western women, have once again brought the issue of women participating in terrorist organizations to the forefront. Yet much remains to be understood about why women join terrorist organizations and why groups choose to incorporate them into their structures and operations. Women in Modern Terrorism, which draws from a unique dataset compiled over a decade, tackles these questions and analyzes women’s inclusion in terrorist organizations since the beginning of modern terrorism, covering both religious and ethno-nationalist terrorism and conflict.

The text opens with a discussion of the definition of terrorism before examining key issues, such as how and why women join terrorist groups, what women’s inclusion in terrorist organizations reveals about the nature and longevity of both the groups and the conflicts, the future of women’s role in terrorist organizations and attacks (particularly given the rise of new terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq), and the types of attacks women perpetrate and how they compare across groups. By looking at case studies, including Hizballah, Chechnya, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram, Al Shaabab, and more, this text shows that women’s inclusion in various terrorist organizations is largely a pragmatic choice by the group. It also highlights the cross-pollination of ideas between differently motivated groups. All these issues, along with the role of the media and the Internet in radicalization and recruitment processes, are explored to provide an exhaustive account of the many roles for women in terrorist groups today.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 192 • Trim: 6¼ x 9¼

978-1-4422-7497-6 • Hardback • January 2017 • $97.00 • (£75.00)

978-1-4422-7498-3 • Paperback • January 2017 • $50.00 • (£38.00)

978-1-4422-7499-0 • eBook • January 2017 • $47.50 • (£37.00)

Subjects: Political Science / Terrorism, Political Science / World / Middle Eastern, Social Science / Women's Studies

Courses: Political Science; Security; Terrorism, Political Science; International Relations; Terrorism & Political Violence, Political Science; Security; Counterterrorism, Sociology; Social Problems; Violence & Terrorism, Political Science; Security; International Security, Political Science; Security; Intelligence

Author

Jessica Davis is an Ottawa-based writer and researcher who has worked in government for more than fifteen years in various departments, including the Department of National Defence, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Women in Modern Terrorism
Defining Terrorism
Data Collection and Methodology
Studying Women in Terrorism

Chapter 1: Organizational Decision Making
Women’s Roles in Terrorist Organizations
Understanding the Integration of Women Using Structural and Group Factors
Predicting Women’s Involvement in Conflict

Chapter 2: Gender and the Radicalization Process(es)
The Process(es) of Radicalization
Gendered Radicalization?
Women as Lone Actors
Conclusions About Women’s Radicalization Processes

Chapter 3: Lebanese Hizballah and Palestinian Terrorist Groups
Hizballah’s Lack of Women Operatives
Women as Terrorists in Palestinian Terrorist Groups
Trends in Women’s Participation in Palestinian Terrorist Activities
Women: Participants in Political Violence in Lebanon and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Chapter 4: Women in Ethno-nationalist Conflict
Women in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Women in the PKK

Chapter 5: Women in Global Jihad: From Al Qaeda to Chechnya
Women in Al Qaeda Core
The Russia - Chechnya Conflict and Chechen Black Widows
Comparing Al Qaeda Core with Chechen Terrorist Groups

Chapter 6: Evolving Global Jihad: Boko Haram and Al Shabaab
Boko Haram’s Bombers: Women and Girls
Al Shabaab’s Inclusion of Women in Modern Terrorism
Comparing Boko Haram and Al Shabaab’s Use of Women in Modern Terrorism

Chapter 7: Women’s role in the Conflict in Iraq and Syria
Female Suicide Bombers in Iraq
Women in ISIL
The Draw of Fundamentalist Religion in the Recruitment of Women
Women in the (continually) evolving Jihad

Conclusion: Trends in Female Terrorism
Women’s Involvement in Modern Terrorism
Women as Lone Actors
Women’s other roles in terrorism
Addressing Women in Terrorism through Counter-Terrorism Initiatives

Annex: Women in Terrorism Incident Dataset
Al Shabaab / Somalia
Al Qaeda
Al Qaeda in Iraq
Boko Haram / Islamic State West Africa
Chechen Groups
ISIL
LTTE
PKK
Palestinian (Unknown group)
Palestinian - Al Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade
Palestinian - Palestinian Islamic Jihad
Palestinian - Fatah
Palestinian - Hamas
Syrian Socialist Nationalist Party
TTP
Unaffiliated Events (By Country)
Canada
Iraq
Israel
Lebanon
United Kingdom
United States of America

Bibliography

About the Author

Index

Reviews

This is a well-written, empirically-based account of the role of women in modern terrorism.
— Perspectives on Terrorism

Women in Modern Terrorism is a well-structured and well-written book…. The book is accessible enough for readers with a general interest in the topic to benefit from…. The main strength of Women in Modern Terrorism is its comparative approach…. Davis sharply analyses existing literature and common perspectives on women and terrorism and political violence…. Women in Modern Terrorism provides a well-written overview of key debates in the field of terrorism studies and will provide a useful summary to the reader aware of the book’s limitations.
— The London School of Economics and Political Science Review of Books

Davis follows excellent leads and develops a database of women involved in conflicts involving jihadi movements from Chechnya to Nigeria to Sri Lanka and beyond.... The book has a crisp, clear logical structure and uses a large database of terrorist events (known as the Women in Terrorist Incidents database). One of the other aspects that Davis is successful in highlighting is the way in which ideas filter between these groups providing them with some commonality and enabling them to remain unique within their context.
— Politics, Religion & Ideology

‘Women inModern Terrorism’ demonstrates the consistent roles women have played in conflict across secular and religious groups. Through this analysis Davis provides evidence based conclusions to assist counter terrorism practitioners and further the field of women in terrorism studies.
— Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism

Women in Modern Terrorism

From Liberation Wars to Global Jihad and the Islamic State

Jessica Davis

Women in Modern Terrorism

From Liberation Wars to Global Jihad and the Islamic State

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