WOMEN IN TERRORISM

Women in Terrorism

Women in Terrorism

Introduction

The first problem is to define terrorism. We have all heard the refrain, “One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.” We have heard this theme and its variations so often that it has been impossible to fix on a single definition of terrorism that satisfies everyone (Wright, 2006). Part of the blame lies with the United Nations and its politicisation of the term. Certain components tend to appear in most serious attempts to define this elusive term, but none is without its difficulties (Taheri, 2006).

The first focuses on the nature of the targeted victims. The deliberate killing of innocent civilians is a central element in most definitions of terrorism, but if this were the only criterion, then one would have to consider the bombings of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Dresden by the armed forces of the United States and Great Britain terrorism (Rapoport, 2008). Whatever else these actions may constitute, most people would not consider them terrorism (Lewis, 2007). On the other hand, the recent attacks on the Pentagon and the Marine barracks in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia are widely regarded as acts of terrorism—certainly by the U.S. government—even though the targets were primarily military (Kushner, 2008).

Another element that often figures into the definition of terrorism is the nature of those who commit the violence. According to many definitions of terrorism, only groups that are not part of the official apparatus of the state can commit terrorism. A distinguishing characteristic of what many people regard as terrorism—and the characteristic that makes it so difficult to punish—is its shadowy nature. Most acts of terrorism are difficult to pin on nation-states (Kushner, 2006). Instead, unofficial groups, which have no standing army and no permanent location where preventive or retaliatory actions can be focused, commit them. The terrorist kills and then blends back into the civilian population or dies. Increasingly, the terrorist may be a woman, a teenager, or even a child (Hanson, 2008).

Discussion

The contemporary notion of terrorism stems from two particular actions in the 1960s. The first was the reaction of Arab states, specifically the nationalist Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), to the success of Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967. The Arab reaction to such humiliation was to mount a terrorist campaign against Israel that initially relied on airplane highjackings and kidnappings (Carr, 2007). Later developments included airport massacres of passengers at several terminals from which the Israeli national airline departed, resulting in the mass murder of hundreds of innocent civilians. The second development was the use of automobiles as bombs, a technique first used by Irish nationalists against the British (Wright, 2006).

The strategy of a car bomb was that movement around cities was essentially undetected, and when the car was parked in the right spot and the bomb detonated at the right time, casualties and the resultant media coverage made the attack a significant event (Taheri, 2006).

Thus, the combination of more elaborate devices meant to increase mass casualties and media coverage gave terrorists the platform ...