Does Terrorism have a Gender? - The Place of Women in Global Islamic Terrorism

Seminar paper from the year 2008 in the subject Politics - Miscellaneous, grade: 92, IDC (IDC), course: Seminar, language: English, abstract: In the western world, the participation of women in higher ranked positions is no longer questioned. The equality between man and woman is considered a given fact. However, in regards to terrorism, the difference in gender is still considered an issue, and femininity and masculinity plays a role. The gender theory, the significance of being a man or a woman, has gone into new dimensions, by affecting fundamental Islam and giving terrorism a new identity. Years ago, the occurrence of suicide bombings was considered the embodiment of 'evil', and had evoked from the public consternation and incomprehension. Today, these one-time occurrences have become a recurrent trend, known as a martyr phenomenon, heard daily on news. Up until recently, most of the suicide bombers, known as 'Shahids', were men who committed the act in order to be remembered in history and upon being promised that it will lead them to paradise. However today we see more and more women, especially Muslim/Islamic women, who decide to die as 'female martyrs'. Since the attack on the World Trade Center in September 11, 2001, terrorism has become a matter of every-day public issue, discussed as one of the top topics in daily news. However, these discussions rarely focus on the implication of gender on the issue, and Islamic terrorism is intuitively perceived as 'masculine' rather than 'feminine'. When the issue of gender in the Islamic world is finally brought up, the focus is usually around the political and domestic oppression of woman, an issue that has been analyzed thoroughly by political scientists, legal practitioners and historians from all perspectives. However, rarely is the feminine role, or lack thereof, discussed in the pretext of terrorism. No public emphasis has been given to the question, of how is it possible that these all-around oppressed women, whose role in their society, by stereotype, is to be the caring housekeeper - to give birth to children, to stand for values like education, etc. - have suddenly taken the role that has long been reserved for men, by turning to violence and volunteering for suicide missions. It begs the question, does terrorism have a gender? Is terrorism a 'masculine' means, increasingly utilized by Islamic women to raise their low standing in society and achieve liberation?