Profile of the female suicide terrorist

Dr. Ruwantissa Abeyratne

Studies have shown that stringent measures, when adopted against a particular type of crime belonging to a generic group (such as theft) would be effective enough to reduce that particular type of crime.

However, it might give rise to increase in other forms of crime belonging to that generic group (such as picking pockets on the street).

Called the spill over effect, this pattern has been observed in many jurisdictions around the world.

When applied to internal warfare or insurgency, it can be observed that when the insurgents lose ground against an established national military, their only retaliation lies in attacking civilians.

This is how suicide bombings increase, as a corollary to methods of conventional warfare that spill over to unconventional methods of aggression.

Regrettably, this trend in criminology is so prolific in the modern world that it has given rise to a doctrine called the law of unforeseen consequences, which addresses issues of collateral damage outside the purview of conventional military activity.

Debra D. Zedalis, in her book "Female Suicide Bombers" states that suicide bombers are today's weapon of choice.

T

he main reason for terrorists to use suicide bombers is that they are a low cost, low technology, and low risk weapon. Suicide bombers are readily available, require little training, leave no trace behind, and strike fear into the general population.

The Institute for Counter-Terrorism of the United States has defined suicide bombing as an "operational method in which the very act of the attack is dependent upon the death of the perpetrator".

This makes the terrorist fully aware that if she/he does not kill her/himself, the planned attack will not be implemented.

Another issue of significance is that some do not like the term "suicide bomber" which is perceived as a euphemism.

Instead they prefer the term "homicide bomber" or "suicide terrorist" which brings to bear more prominently the killer aspect of the crime.

Deterrence

The only effective response to this threat seems to lie in deterrence, although it does not work in its conventional sense since the suicide bomber is not concerned with punitive action taken by a State after his or her death.

If deterrence does not work, another useful approach would be to study trends with a view to profiling the would be suicide bomber.

One of the conspicuous facts shown by a spate of suicide bombings around the world over the past two decades is that, although most of the suicide bombings are carried out by males, the face of terror is increasingly becoming female.

Zedalis goes on to say that the success of suicide bombers depends upon an element of surprise, as well as accessibility to targeted areas or populations. Both of these required elements have been enjoyed by women suicide bombers. Few female suicide bombers were used in the past; however, the recent spate of them in different venues, in different countries is quite alarming. In 1991 a female suicide bomber killed herself and former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Since then similar bombings have occurred in Turkey, Pakistan, Israel, Uzbekistan, and Iraq.

In Russia in 2004 at least 11 female Chechen bombers struck, including some women who, earlier in the year, brought down two Russian airliners and others who helped seize a Beslan middle school and kill over 330 hostages, many of them children. So far, a number of female suicide bombers have been active both in Iraq and in Sri Lanka.

As a phenomenon, female suicide bombers are relatively new. The first known attack by a female was in 1985 when 16-year old Khyadali Sana, rammed a truck into an Israeli Defence Force convoy killing two soldiers. Since then, in Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Chechnya, Israel, and Turkey females have driven bomb-laden vehicles, carried bomber "bags," and strapped massive explosives and metal implements on their bodies.

Groups such as Syrian Socialist National Party (SSNP/PPS), the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Chechen rebe ls, Al Aqsa Martyrs, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and, most recently, Hamas are known to use female suicide bombers.

Zidalis says that while the SSNP is widely recognized as the first to deploy the first female suicide bomber, the LTTE became the world's foremost suicide bombers and proved the tactic to be so unnerving and effective that their methods and killing innovations were studied and copied, most notably in the Middle East.

Tigers

According to her, the LTTE has committed the most attacks, close to 200, using women bombers in 30-40 percent. The largest number killed (170) was in Moscow in October 2002 when Chechen rebels (including a high percentage of women) held hostages in the Theatre Centre, and the police killed 129 captives and 41 rebels in a futile rescue effort.

Female suicide bombers start young. According to known records, the youngest of such was either Khyadali Sana (SSNP/PPS, 1985), who was 16, or Laila Kaplan, (PKK, 1996), who was 17. The oldest known appears to have been Shagir Karima Mahmud (SSNP/PPS, 1987), who was 37.

The first LTTE female bomber, Dhanu, successfully killed Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991. The first female PKK suicide bomber, whose name is unknown, and could also be the first pregnant woman carrying out this heinous crime, attacked in June 1996, killing six Turkish soldiers.

The first Russian "Black Widow" or saliheen, Hawa Barayev, acted on behalf of the Chechen rebels in June 2000 and killed 27 Russian Special Forces soldiers. In January 2002, the first istish-hadiyat (female martyr) in Israel, representing the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, was Wafa Idris, a paramedic who detonated a 22-pound body bomb filled with nails and metal objects in a shopping district.

Among those killed was an 81-year-old man. More than 100 bystanders were killed. The first PIJ bomber was a 19-year-old student.

One of the underlying reasons for the terrorist to use suicide bombing as a tool of destruction is that it inflicts profound fear and anxiety and produces a negative psychological effect on an entire population and not just on the victims of the actual attack.

There is also the media angle where a suicide attack attracts wide media coverage and is seen as a newsworthy event.

In this context female suicide bombers whether it be a mother, a jilted young girl or avenger of dead family members have an added media aspect which encourages terrorists to capitalise on the sensationalism. Female terrorists can assimilate better in society, and when their job is done, create more sensationalism in the media.

Depression

There is a wise saying : "beware of one who has nothing to lose". In an interview conducted by National Geographic journalist Lisa Ling who travelled to the Chechnya region in the Russian Federation and to the Middle East, a startling fact that was revealed during the interview was that in the case of a particular woman, Wafa Idris.

She was married off at a very young age and could not have kids. In that society a woman, a wife, who can't have kids is considered worthless. The husband had divorced Wafa and married someone else and had children with her.

Wafa also worked with a humanitarian organization on the West Bank where she saw a lot of carnage from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Therefore she was a very depressed person.

Often, many such women are pregnant, vulnerable and broken who can see no light at the end of the tunnel. They see no purpose in continuing their lives on Earth as their problems are too difficult to handle, and taking out the enemy is the one way of becoming a hero. In most instances, they see their self destruction as well as those around them as a way of redeeming themselves and their family name.

The National Geographic also states that in their findings, religion is usually not an issue, nor is it money. However, desperation and exploitation are compelling reasons. There are some researchers who believe the contrary, that there are few differences between a male and female suicide bomber in terms of motive.

They do believe, they are committed, they are patriotic, and this is sometimes combined with a religious duty. Often, families of suicide bombers receive large financial assistance that improve their family's social status and enhance their reputation.

After their death, their families are considered part of a martyr and showered with honour. Additionally, suicide bombers, both male and female believe that they will receive something that they never received while being alive, and that is recognition.

They know they will be shot to prominence by the organization which trained and sponsored them. They expect to be admired and envied by those left behind. Photographs capture them in heroic positions, and these photos are used as recruitment posters.

It is reported that, a study of world attitudes by the Pew Research Centre showed exponential popularity of and increasing support for 'martyrs'.

Finally, many organisations are deliberately focusing on women for strategic purposes simply because female suicide bombers receive more media attention. There is research that says that public perceptions of the level of terrorism in the world appear to be determined not by the level of violence, but rather by the quality of the incidents, the location, and the degree of media coverage.

Profiling

As mentioned earlier, one of the ways in which the threat of suicide bombings can be countered is through profiling. Firstly, in order to profile, one must determine which type of criminal one is looking for.

This is where the trends and characteristics of female suicide bomber attacks would be useful. Profiling is a useful tool in the pursuit of the science of criminology. It is also a key instrument in a sociological context and therefore remains a sustained social science constructed through a contrived process of accumulation of single assumptions and propositions that flow to an eventual empirical conclusion.

However, profiling should not be based purely on a racial basis as it raises well reasoned latent fears when based on a racial platform. Jonathan Turley, Professor of Constitutional Law at George Washington University, in his testimony before a United States House of Representatives Committee on Airport Security regarding the use of racial profiling to identify potentially dangerous travellers observed that racial profiling is to the science of profiling as forced confessions are to the art of interrogation.

Like forced confessions, racial profiling achieves only the appearance of effective police work. Racial profiling uses the concept of profiling to shield or obscure a racist and unscientific bias against a particular class or group. It is the antithesis of profiling in that it elevates stereotypes over statistics in law enforcement.

The above notwithstanding, the most important measure to counter suicide bombings is to determine the modus operandi of the leaders who recruit and train women. Some researchers have come to the conclusion that there is a global drive to recruit female terrorists and turn them into suicide bombers.

Others believe that females are easier to recruit since they are the most vulnerable and give up their lives since they have lost everything that they expected out of life.

Whatever the causative factors are, this scourge will have to be eliminated and one wonders whether, a heavier armed forces presence, as can be seen now in Iraq, which has seemingly reduced the suicide bombings in affected areas, would be the answer until the threat is entirely eradicated.