Veiled "bombshells": Women's participation in Islamist extremist organizations
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Authors
Kasatkin, Jacqueline-Marie W.W.
Subjects
terrorism
counter-terrorism
extremism
suicide bomber
martyrdom
violent extremist organizations
VEO
Islamist
Islamist extremist organizations
IEO
Islamic Resistance Movement
HAMAS
al-Qaeda
AQ
Islamic State
ISIS
female suicide bombers
female martyrs
female terrorists
female combatants
women in violence
counter-terrorism
extremism
suicide bomber
martyrdom
violent extremist organizations
VEO
Islamist
Islamist extremist organizations
IEO
Islamic Resistance Movement
HAMAS
al-Qaeda
AQ
Islamic State
ISIS
female suicide bombers
female martyrs
female terrorists
female combatants
women in violence
Advisors
Baylouny, Anne Marie
Date of Issue
2017-06
Date
Jun-17
Publisher
Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
Many assume any woman who serves as a terrorist combatant or suicide bomber does so at the behest of a male-dominated hierarchy and not of her own volition. However, this overarching notion appears contradictory given the historical participation of women within liberation movements, uprisings, and terrorism. Faced with what seems to be a growing trend within violent extremist organizations, states, militaries, policy-makers, and academics are confronted with a vital question: Are women purely serving as baby factories for future terrorists, as sex slaves, as logistical support, and as sacrificial lambs; or, do they have a more active, combatant role? In examining the evolving roles of women within Islamist extremist organizations, this thesis concludes that women are not merely innocent bystanders coopted and coerced by male-dominated patriarchal Islamist organizations. Women are increasingly seeking more combatant and more public roles in these organizations and, in so doing, constitute a legitimate threat that must be engaged. Through a review of the prevailing literature concerning women's participation in violence and analysis of the Islamic Resistance Movement, al-Qaeda, and the Islamic State, this thesis highlights the crucial and evolving roles that women play within violent Islamist organizations. The author concludes that the more nationalistic an organization becomes, the greater the role women tend to have within it. As such, should organizations such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State establish a nationalist objective, vice their current global jihadist agenda, female participation within these organizations may further evolve beyond purely militant roles and into the realm of politics and leadership. By highlighting the fact that men do not possess a monopoly on violence, the author informs policy-makers and planners of the risks involved in discounting the agency of female participants within these organizations.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
National Security Affairs (NSA)
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.