WOMEN’S INVOLVEMENT IN TERRORISM: A CRITICAL LOOK AT THEIR ROLES IN SELECTED TERRORIST ORGANISATIONS

Abstract

The study examined why societies are slow or not inclined to imbibe the
directive on gender equality, as terrorist organisations are using this directive to entice more
women by offering them opportunities to hold positions of prominence, which are denied by
the societies in which they live. While the research study employed content, process theories
and push and pull factors were also examined. The study adopted a multi-layered methodology
in which four cases of transnational terrorist groups were selected and qualitatively analysed.
The study concludes that women play a variety of roles in terrorist organisations, in some cases
more than men do, and the implications of this role for the global war on terror have led to a
long way in devising effective counterterrorism strategies and policies. For example, Boko
Haram may be abducting girls and women to use as future recruiters or suicide bombers.
However, in espionage parlance, they are called 'sleepers' who can be 'awakened' later in the
future for certain jobs, such as suicide bombing or targeted assassination. Like the Russian
KGB, many such 'sleepers' were deliberately planted in America as American children and
families during the heydays of the Cold War.