Women Suicide Bombers: Unchartered Territory
Rohit Honawar
Research Officer, IPCS
Last week marked another bloody chapter in the violence that has marred Iraq's new found 'liberation'. That there were a spate of suicide bombings which left more than 120 people dead came as no surprise for a country which has witnessed unrelenting violence since the US led invasion begun in 2003. However, the fact that a bombing that left five people dead was carried out by a female suicide bomber, has questioned what was believed to have been known about insurgency in Iraq.
On September 28 2005, Iraq's first female suicide bomber blew herself up outside a US military office in the northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar, killing five people and wounding 53 others. The bomber, dressed as a man, detonated an explosives belt outside the military facility, which operated as a recruitment center for volunteers. The Al Qaeda group in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack in an internet posting, stating that a "sister" affiliated with the Malik Suicidal Brigade had "carried out a heroic attack defending her faith."
While Saddam Hussein's security forces had utilized female bombers at least once before, the tactics employed have been more commonly associated with the LTTE in Sri Lanka and Chechen rebels in Russia. These tactics are creating a new and more complicated aspect to counter-insurgency in Iraq.
Suicide bombings, as a method of waging an attack, provide the assailant with the deadly, advantageous combination of surprise and devastation. The anonymity and virtual invisibility that comes with carrying out a suicide attack, gives the bomber a sense of parity against the forces he fights. While identifying male suicide bombers is a challenge in itself, dealing with female suicide bombers involves additional cultural and social sensitivities. Though men in Iraq are subject to frequent and random searches, this is a practice often overlooked for women. As a result of the recent bombing however, it has been suggested that women and children be searched in the same manner as men. This is a proposition that not only poses problems for security forces, but is one that will surely incur resistance from religious scholars and the local population. Keeping religious and social traditions aside, there is a shortage of women officers to conduct body searches, creating a logistical nightmare for those upholding the peace. The fear psychosis for security personnel having to deal with suicide bombers is multiplied when women and children are added to the equation, with every person being a potential threat.
The suicide attack in Iraq highlighted the ease with which a woman bomber could carry out a pre-meditated act of violence. In addition, it has challenged the prevalent view that women are not capable of terrorist attacks, a notion that was challenged at the time of Rajiv Gandhi's assassination and more recently, the attack in Tal Afar. Security forces and law enforcement agencies would do well to increase their vigilance over all spheres of society, not limiting their anti-terror campaigns to certain segments of the population.
It is still too early to speculate if the attack on the US military facility represents new tactics by the insurgents, or whether it is just an anomaly. However, one factor remains certain. Security forces in Iraq could be faced with the possibility of having to deal with a group of young, educated, middle class women, fighting for a nationalistic cause, against forces they believe are illegally occupying their territory. In essence, there is a sense of delving into un-chartered territory when one is faced the prospect of dealing with women suicide bombers. However, it is important to note that women bombers come with the 'societal baggage' of family and responsibility, both are aspects they would be hard pressed to move away from.
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