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Katharina von Knop
belonging to the al-Qaeda movement. So far, Ms. Degauque is the only female
convert to have carried out a suicide attack, and a theory derived from a single case
would be specious at best.
In all, three 23 husband-and-wife suicide missions have been carried out; a handful
of other couples were arrested in advance. The instance of female suicide bombers
operating under the banner of al-Qaeda can be said to have increased over a
relatively short period of time. It can also be stated that female participation in the
suicide operations of this global movement remains very unusual. At the individual
level, it is very difficult to profile female suicide bombers and would-be bombers;
they exhibit all kinds of educational, religious, social and personal backgrounds.
Luckily, too few incidents have occurred to develop a theory or discern a pattern.
From an analysis of the biographies of the very few women who acted under the
banner of al-Qaeda, it is obvious that in the most cases their educational level was
above average compared to other female Muslims. Carrying out attacks allows
women to fulfill traditional male duties and obtain the chance of being honoured by
the society in which they live. Especially for female converts to the radical
ideology, active participation is a logical consequence of their commitment. In
conclusion, female terrorism is increasing because women are motivated to engage
in political violence and organizations are facing stronger incentives to recruit
female operatives.
Conclusion
Two new trends of suicide attacks carried out under the umbrella of al-Qaeda are
currently observable. The first trend is the use of female suicide bombers and the
second is the use of husband-and-wife weapon delivery systems. Nonetheless, too
few incidents have occurred to permit forming a profile or drawing conclusions
about al-Qaeda’s female suicide bombers. Terrorist organizations in general use
women as suicide bombers because they provide many considerable benefits. First,
they provide a tactical advantage. Second, the inclusion of women as suicide
bombers increases the number of combatants. Third, deploying women increases
the publicity gained by an attack and ultimately brings to bear a much greater
psychological impact. Even if classical Islamic sources are fairly negative about the
role of women in Jihad, it is equally clear that radical Muslims have been
attempting to legitimize women’s participation in Jihad. The necessary ideological
justification to allow women to carry out suicide operations clearly exists, but it is
questionable whether a revolutionary change in Jihad will be accepted by the larger
radical Islamist community.
It appears that women’s roles of supporting male relatives and educating children
in the ideology of the global Salafi Jihad play a more important role than suicide
bombing in the short- and long-term survival of al-Qaeda affiliates. While the
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