Europe now fears female terrorists the most

Hossam al-Haddad

Women have been part of the violence of Salafist movements for a long time now.

Although women’s involvement in this violence is not new, the phenomenon is becoming very confusing. This is so clear in the case of the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka. The group depends on women for carrying around 60 per cent of its attacks with explosive belts.

Dependence on women by the group increased as a result of the killing of a large number of its male members. Some of the male members of the group also migrated and left the group altogether.

There is a selective exploitation of women by extremist Islamist groups, including al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

This spreads fear across the European continent, especially with the return of ISIS fighters and their families from the battlefields in Iraq and Syria.

Although most of the male commanders of the terrorist organization have been killed, the female members of the organization continue to be the most dangerous threat. This is especially true with most of these female members sticking so strongly to the ideology of the organization.

Some international reports have warned against the danger posed by the female members of the organization. These females, the reports say, make up between 15 and 20% of all members of the organization.

In 2018, the International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence said women made up 13% of the members of ISIS.

Terrorist organizations paid special attention to their women brigades over the years. These organizations formed a large number of brigades, some of them were famous.

The women of these organizations functioned as a strong magnet for male recruits, especially from Europe. They also played a role in the torture of women who joined these organizations, but did not follow their rules.

In some cases, women are more influential and effective inside the terrorist organizations than men. Women prove to be more capable of evading checks and examinations at security posts in the countries where their organizations operate.

Women came back to the surface this month, after a Slovakian studies center threw light on the role of women within terrorist organizations.

The center issued a study on the women of the terrorist organizations after analyzing the data of 326 Europeans extremists who had been held hostage, deported or killed since 2015. These extremists included 43 women.

The study concludes that the female members of ISIS pose a series threat. It said these members are ready to launch attacks at any time.

These women, it said, did not only act as brides for the male members of the organization.

Some of them drew in recruits to the organization, while others were active in making financing available to the organization, the center said.