Extremist Groups Recruiting Women for Central Asian Terrorism
November 12, 2009
A troubling trend has been emerging in recent years across Central Asia, as terrorist cells have been increasingly turning to women to carry out their dirty work. Facing a declining pool of potential male recruits due to war casualties, extremist groups in that region have been enlisting females for a number of reasons. Not only are women available, but they are also unlikely suspects who can often catch security forces off-guard. The fact that females can easily conceal weapons in their clothing and are rarely subjected to body searches makes them even more effective from a strategic point of view.
Terrorist groups also know that the economic and political marginalization faced by many Central Asian women makes females more willing to engage in extremist activity. Indeed, living under highly oppressive societal conditions with few prospects for improvement, women become highly vulnerable to terrorist recruitment, whether it be from male relatives, other women, or religious leaders.
The Internet has done a great deal to facilitate the recruitment process. For example, as early as 2004, articles printed in Sawt al-Jihad—an online magazine sponsored by al Qaeda—highlighted why women should join the ranks of Islamic extremists. Sensing al Qaeda’s success with female recruitment, other extremist groups then turned to the web as well. The Internet provides access to women who might be otherwise secluded, creating a vast new pool of potential recruits. The web also serves as a forum for women to communicate freely and anonymously with one another, allowing them to operate ‘under the radar’ in comparison to other members of extremist outfits.
Unfortunately, the trend of female recruitment is unlikely to dissipate in the near-term. A growing number of Central Asia’s marginalized women may simply see joining extremist organizations as a way ‘out’ of their current situation. Perhaps an improvement in economic conditions or a greater respect for women’s rights in the region would be a panacea for this growing problem, but those developments do not seem likely anytime soon.
-Samantha Brletich
