– Buds of Gender Equality?

Keren Shein Daskal and Dr. Eitan Azani report:  One of the most surprising developments in female involvement within various Islamic terrorist organizations is the way Jihadi organizations have allowed women to assume various roles, including battlefield positions and execution of terror attacks. These women are integrated into an arena that from a historical and classical perspective has been a male dominated-arena (Von Knop, 2007).

The number of women in Jihadi organizations has gradually grown since 1976. Between 1985-2010 female terrorists have perpetrated over 275 suicide bombing, about 25% of the total attacks, on behalf of various organizations around the world. These women have killed hundreds of men, women and children and injured scores of others (Bloom, 2011). It is evident that the common denominator between female motivation to partake and terror organizations’ motives to let them in has expanded and enabled this phenomenon.

Even though classic Islam has consistently frowned upon female participation in Jihad, radical Islam takes a different approach and tries to justify their participation. For example, to date, there are a number of Fatwas that allow female participation in Jihad and even female suicide bombers (Von Knop, 2007; Davis, 2013). Terror is perceived as a male-dominated field, among other reasons, due to the fact that the percentage of terror attacks perpetrated by women, although on an upward trend, is still very low. This number leads to a flawed analysis of the phenomenon and belittles women’s’ contribution to Jihad’s survival and the scope of terrorism.

A large body of research is dedicated to the “male” Jihad that often includes violence and terror attacks whereas most of the women who identify themselves as radical Muslims adopt a “feminine” Jihad that is perceived as “softer” than its male counterpart because it is far less violent. Women’s’ long-term contribution to Jihad is in some respects even harder to eradicate than the “male” Jihad (Von Knop, 2007). The classic “female” Jihad is manifested in many “soft” fields such as fundraising, indoctrination and incitement trough education and of course steering the private household (husband and children) towards Jihad…Women in the Service of Jihad .ict.org.il

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