Kelsey+K11

** “I am going to fight instead of the sleeping Iraqi armies who are watching girls fight alone” (Ayat Akhras). [|Female suicide bombers have become to newest trend in terrorism], because women have advantages of being unspotted over men. Women in the Middle East live in a male dominate world, if they want to participate in helping out their country, the closest that they can get, is storing hostages, and housing and caring for the men in the army. Just recently in these past years, four women have changed the roles of women in society. Together they helped women to have the chance to become more equal with the dominant males. In Iraq, the subordinate status of women in their society is tied in with their Muslim religion. Men, like Hassan Butt, have stated women’s role towards men and the family life. He has said, “Women were created to please man and therefore her status is instrumental not fundamental… Muslims truly believe that women are not equal to men… They have difficulties accepting their subordinate status… Muslim women are left feeling isolated and alone.” (Hassan 2001, p. 59-61) They were supposed to turn their anger inward, but now it is accepted for them to participate in terrorist operations. Being a female suicide bomber was unthinkable in the twentieth century, even though women have risked their own life to kill, they didn’t do it to earn respect. Four women have started this particular trend, and although it is not accepted by every Iraqi group, it is favored by most. In 2002, the first women to blow herself up, was Wafa al-Idris, a 28 year-old woman refugee who killed one person in the Middle East. Idris was known as the first female suicide bomber, and by her action she ended the social taboo that women cannot be martyrs. The Al-Aqsa, a martyr brigade full of militia, stated, “There is no doubt that this is a turning point. It has given women a burst of enthusiasm to join the fight and many now are volunteering to carry out attacks.” Following Wafa, by one month, was Dareen Abu Aeshah who was a twenty-one year-old college student. By injuring three soldiers, she has been honored and described as “a real man”, which is a major compliment, considering the roles of women in their society. The third suicide bomber in this series of four attacks was the eighteen year-old Ayat Akhras who killed herself and two enemy soldiers. For her bravery, her act was said to be, “sensational, it’s awesome, it makes me think that anyone would love to be in her place,” this was declared from a friend of the murderer. These two previous quotes show how much honor and respect that suicide bombers get for killing themselves and “the enemy”. As these attacks continue, they injure a lot of people; but as they go, there has been a greater success rate in killing these victims. Finally, the most successful out of these previous women was Andaleeb Takafza who, at twenty years old, killed herself and six others. Together, this unsuspected phenomenon of four women paved the way for the new custom of female suicide bombers. They threw off officials, their own families, and the world because of their gender and how they did not fit the profile of a suicide bomber. Looking at the bigger picture, female suicide bombers have an advantage over their male equivalent in accessing targets. Women can [|hide explosives in prosthetic devices]that imitate the look of pregnancy. Also, they go unsuspected most of the time, because it is improper for a male Iraqi soldier to body search a woman, this is most helpful when suicide bombers need to get through checkpoints and highly secured areas. It is expected to see more female suicide bombers then male in the upcoming years, because of their massive advantages. With the change in stereotypes for these bombers, from a young man of a lower economical class and uneducated, to an ordinary looking woman; it is harder to detect a possible threat to others. Mid eastern women can easily disguise explosives in her already bulky, everyday clothing, also with the prosthetic mimic of a pregnant belly that is in reality, a cavity for explosives. One question that came to my mind during my research was, “Why do these men and women kill themselves to hurt others? What do they get out of it?” My questions were answered when I read an interview that an American reporter did with a group of young men, all poor, unmarried, undereducated Islamic radicals; but this is what they did and had to say in the reporter’s interview. “One of the men pulled a cigarette lighter from his pocket and held the yellow flame under my outstretched palm. I pulled back my hand in pain. ‘Does that hurt you?’ he asked. ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘Just this tiny little flame hurts you? Now imagine what Hell fires would feel like for eternity. But in paradise there are virgins… virgins who smell like mangos,’ he said” (Richard Engel, Suicide Bomber Motive: Revenge). The men in this interview were trying to convert this reporter to “the good side”, and this is actually what they have been told, and what they believe. This interview deals with the belief in the afterlife if one follows through in a suicide bombing mission. But women believe that they will not have virgins in their afterlife, but that they will be one of many virgins for the males. The whole belief of the afterlife is that men who murder others will have seventy-two virgins, while the enemies, in reality are the innocent, are sent to hell. Groups like the Al-aqua, the Chechen Black Widows, and the Tamil Tigers all use women for suicide bombing missions for their advantages. In years to come, security will change to not only suspect men as much as we do today, but women also. It is going to be two times harder to secure the Mid Eastern civilization as well as the Western civilization. Anyone who has humiliated or offended these groups are in danger, and will be in for what could be, a surprise. More and more females are training to become suicide bombers, and it is going to put more stress on security for everyone, not only men are a threat anymore, but also women.
 * Women Dying for Equality

Applebaum, Anne. "Girl Suicide Bombers." Washington Post. Newsweek Interactive Co. 02 APR 2002 02 MAY 2008 [|http://www.slate.com/id/2063954/.] Copeland, Libby. "The New Factor in Mideast's Deadly Equation." Female Suicide Bombers Engel, Richard. "FEMALE SUICIDE BOMBERS MOTIVE: REVENGE ." MSNBC. 11 APR 2007. MSN. 7 May 2008 http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/04/11/130780.aspx Gilmore, I. (2002, February 4). Palestinian women volunteer to be ‘martyrs’: After the death of first female suicide bomber, dozens of women are signing up for military operations against Israel. Available: http://www.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document. [2002, April 26]. Hassan, R. (2001, Spring). Challenging the stereotypes of fundamentalism: An Islamic feminist perspective. The Muslim World, 91, 55-69. WASHINGTON (CNN), "U.S. agencies warn of female suicide bombers." CNN.com 12 FEB 2008 02 MAY 2008 <[|http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/02/12/suicide.bombers/index.html>.]
 * Works Cited **