female suicide bomber

Female suicide bombers have become an increasingly prevalent phenomenon in recent years, particularly as popular symbols in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Some argue that the increasing prevalence of female suicide bombers is a sign of the rising status of women in Arab culture. Some argue that the desire to become a martyr stems from the marginalization of women in Arab society. Though Islam forbids women (and men) to commit suicide bombings, terrorist organizations (including fundamentalist Muslim ones) have used women to carry out suicide bombings because they draw less suspicion than men and go through less rigorous security checks. For example: while a man can be checked to see if he's carrying an explosive belt by simply lifting his shirt, ordering a woman to do so contradicts Jewish norms of modesty and will cause outrage among conservative Muslims. Israeli security procedures practice is that a suspected woman is to be checked by a female soldier in a screened off area. Recently, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the former leader of Islamist terrorist group Hamas, issued a rule that allows Muslim women to commit suicide and promised Hamas will send many female suicide bombers in order to strike Israelis. Reactions to this in the Islamic world were ambivalent. While many hailed the female suicide bomber and urged full involvement of all in Jihad, some criticized the cruelty of tearing mothers from their children and sending them to explode themselves. One Lebanese reporter mocked Hamas's "manhood" and suggested that Hamas male terrorists' inability to penetrate Israeli defenses forced Hamas to use women, which is derogatory to Hamas according to traditional Arab values.

India

Thenmuli Rajaratnam, 21 May 1991 Suspected LTTE member, killed former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi, herself and 16 others at an election rally near Madras.

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Wafa Idris, 27 January 2002
Darine Abu Aisha, 27 February 2002
Ayat al-Akhras, 30 March 2002
Andalib Suleiman, 25 April 2002
Hiba Daraghmeh, 19 May 2003
Hanadi Jaradat, 24 October 2003. (see Maxim restaurant suicide bombing)
Reem Raiyshi, 14 January 2004 22 years of age, mother of a 3 year old son and a year old daughter.
Zeybab Ali Issa Abu-Salam, 22 September, 2004, 18 years of age

Iraq

two women, 3 April 2003

Russia

Zulikhan Yelikhadzhiyeva and (unknown), 5 July 2003
1 woman, February 6, 2003
1 woman, August 31, 2004

Chechnya

1 woman, 29 April 2001
Shakhidat Baimuradova, 14 May 2003
1 woman, June 2003
1 woman, October 2003
1 woman, December 5, 2003

Sri Lanka

The Tamil Tigers have been one of the groups most active in using suicide bombers, although they are Hindus or Marxists. Most of their suicide bombers have been female.

External link

Women Armed for Terror - list of female suicide-bombers.