American Perceptions of Female Suicide Bombers

In a post-9/11 world, the term “suicide bomber” has a visceral effect on Americans. Immediately, images of Middle Eastern men in market places, bombs strapped to their chests, come to mind. Suicide bombing is a particular frightening and effective form of terrorism – it is hard to combat, hard to predict, and involves intense levels of courage and devotion to a cause bent on destruction. Though the first female suicide bomber was a 16 year old girl who blew herself up in 1988 (Zedalis, 2004: 8), in the post-9/11 years the American media has increasingly paid unique attention to female “martyrs.” The constant articles detailing the violence wreaked by male suicide bombers has caused the American public to become almost de-sensitized to Middle Eastern terrorism (provided it’s on foreign soil). However, female suicide bombers, though more and more common, are still considered a “hot topic.” Due to their gender, the media sensationalizes their stories to a problematic degree. I believe that most Americans’ first instinct is to assume suicide bombers are male, due to the fact that the media has inundated us with story after story about male suicide bombers in the Middle East. However, I believe that articles about female suicide bombers discuss their motives more deeply and arouse greater sympathy from readers.

While suicide terrorism can be traced back to the 11th century, the use of female suicide terrorists (in this case, suicide bombers) is relatively recent (Zedalis, 2004: 7). However, in the recent decades there has been a significant increase in the number of women in terrorist organizations and the number of successful and attempted suicide bombings committed by women. There are several advantages to using a female suicide bomber. On the one hand, she is unlikely to be searched and can smuggle bombs more easily under her robes. On the other hand, there is the stereotype that women are nonviolent and therefore they typically garner less suspicion than their male counterparts while carrying out their mission, (Shedd, 2006: 7). Finally, female suicide bombers generally get more publicity, the resulting psychological effects of which can be particularly useful to terrorist organizations – women terrorists tend to receive more public sympathy than men, which can lead to an increase in the recruitment rate of new members to terrorist organizations. Indeed, “in these contexts, differences in coverage [between genders] may encourage terrorists to use women as operatives to secure frequent and more sympathetic coverage,” (Shedd, 2006: 2). While male suicide bombers are more common (at least, presently), female suicide bombers generally receive more written coverage, (Shedd, 2006: 26).

While some terrorist groups historically did not include women in their ranks for religious reasons and to preserve the fraternal bond that strengthened the loyalty of their members, in the last decade many religious leaders have declared “fatwa’s” (religious rulings) allowing women to become terrorists out of necessity. They claim that these are temporary measures for desperate times, (Shedd, 2006: 17). Women are becoming very advantageous to terrorist organizations – especially considering they have a higher rate of success due to their gender and the fact that their successful attacks make a greater splash in the media.

Though I did not extensively research how the media depicts these women, there is the usual theme: “poor brainwashed widow exploited by terrorist organizations”. I think that people would do well to remember that women are just as capable of being motivated by political aims and a sense of religious imperative as men. While I do not condone the actions of female suicide bombers, I do not think they are all merely pawns in the hands of their male comrades.

I would advise the American media to avoid giving female suicide bombers any more attention than male bombers, because the amount of media coverage a female terrorist receives is causing more terrorist groups to see the usefulness of women in their organizations. Unfortunately, by indulging our curiosity about female suicide bombers we are merely furthering the aims of terrorist organizations.

Works Cited

Shedd, J. R., (2006). Understanding Female Terrorists: An Analysis of Motivation and Media Representation. American Political Science Association. Retrieved May 5, 2009, from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p153284_index.html

Zedalis, Deborah D. (2004). Female Suicide Bombers. Strategic Studies Institute, Retrieved May 5, 2009, from http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB408.pdf

- Dollface

For those curious, the bulk of my essay was devoted to a pilot study I conducted in which I interviewed college students about their perceptions of suicide bombers. If you want to know about my results, feel free to email me!

What are your thoughts & opinions on American media coverage of female suicide bombers? Let me know in the comment sections.