The involvement of women in violent extremist movements has long existed. Nevertheless, it is often underestimated or neglected by the literature and policy makers. This has been mainly due to the misconception that violence is a feature attributed and carried out by men.
26 July 2017
While there are a number of combining factors attributed to violent extremism and radicalization, such as poverty, unemployment, marginalization and frustration, pull factors can also appeal to the individual. These include access to material resources, protection, a sense of belonging and empowerment, as well as strong governance[1].
Although the underlying drivers of terrorism and radicalization may not be new, the ideology-based element of these phenomena has displayed recent fluctuations and adaptations[2]. For instance, the involvement of women in violent extremist movements has long existed. Nevertheless, it is often underestimated or neglected by the literature and policy makers. This has been mainly due to the misconception that violence is a feature attributed and carried out by men. Most recently, however, women are increasingly been recognized as actors of violence in conflicts, acting as perpetrators, sympathizers and combatants, either in favor or against violent extremist groups.
Among several complex factors that have led women to join these groups, one has been the search for socio-economic empowerment[3]. This has been due to patriarchal structures, traditional or cultural norms that hamper women from exercising their rights and fully participating in the public and private spheres of their communities. Therefore, in these societies women tend to be marginalized in a number of domains, including in resource allocation, access to labor markets as well as education and political decision-making. It is worth noting that in most African countries, these discriminatory policies worsened during the colonial period and continued throughout the post-colonial era. The high level of ‘feminization’ of poverty in some countries in Africa has thus resulted in women joining violent extremist groups to enhance their socio-economic and political status[4].
Extremist groups such as Boko Haram in Nigeria associate pre-existing local conflict or grievances as global causes and beyond their brutality, including numerous acts of sexual violence, the group has been expanding their reach and placing women at the heart of their agenda for strategic purposes[5]. In fact, it is striking to say that among the array of players in Nigeria’s North-East conflict, the terrorist organization is the one paying greater attention to the expansion of women’s roles in their terrorism efforts, rhetoric and actions.
As research shows, Boko Haram has been mobilizing women both by force and voluntarily[6], placing them outside the domestic sphere by creating new empowering roles for recruiting purposes. In fact, while patriarchy, poverty, early marriage and lack of access to education have long hindered their socio-economic empowerment, some women saw in Boko Haram the opportunity to expand their limited horizons.
The common perception attributed to women as being non-violent has also played a big part in their recruitment as well as in the extremist group’s operational effectiveness. Because women are considered harmless, female combatants can easily be used as spies, messengers and circulate in public spaces without being noticed. An example of this fact is the female suicide bombers that have left scores of dead in Nigeria and Cameroon[7].
On the opposite side, women have also participated in the fight against Boko Haram, joining pro-government paramilitary forces, such as Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), which was formed in 2013. As time went on, female members of North East communities started to join the group for a number of reasons, including vengeance for the loss of their loved ones. Others started to help voluntarily, offering strategic information on Boko Haram’s activities and its members’ whereabouts[8]. Overall, a dataset that examines the extent to which women are active in armed insurgent groups across Africa finds that their participation has been about 45 percent of active insurgencies since 1950[9].
In one way or another, the view of women as passive victims of terrorism and acts of violence is misleading, restricted and needs substantial revision. Indeed, violence against women in conflict is a phenomenon that requires a comprehensive response and prevention mechanisms, but by only focusing on this dynamic, we might run the risk of overshadowing women's agency and empowered capabilities. In other words, while many women have been victims of sexual abuse, displaced and exploited, others have acted in insurgency as well as counter-terrorism efforts.
The spectrum of types of violence that occurs in conflict-settings, such as in North East Nigeria, coincides with the link between conflict and gender. As stated above, gender stereotypes have favored approaches to women that often stress their roles as victims and passive actors, and do not take into account their agency, perspectives and motivations in roles that can include preventers, participants, perpetrators as well as survivors.
As pointed out by the OECD research [10], there are many points of intersection between gender inequality and interstate dispute. More particularly, gender inequality as a key manifestation of horizontal inequalities, leads to destabilized societal relations, which makes societies less resistant to shocks of violence [11]. It has also been found that international support for gender reforms or, more particularly, the increase of women’s participation, will have limited impacts if powerful societal structures and norms are left unaddressed [12].
That said, moving from policy frameworks to implementation will require further attention to, and investment in integrating a gender perspective and ensuring women’s meaningful participation in efforts to address terrorism and violent extremism. It should also recognize the importance of societal norms in shaping gender inequality, while also bringing together gender, violence and conflict within one comprehensive framework of response and prevention.
Inevitably, there has been a growing awareness of the role played by women in both assisting and countering terrorism activities. For instance, the Council’s resolution 2242 (2015) urges Member States and the United Nations system “to ensure the participation and leadership of women and women’s organizations in developing strategies to counter terrorism and violent extremism”[13], while also integrating gender as a cross-cutting issue throughout their activities, country-specific assessments and reports.
Moreover, as the Security Council resolution 2129 reaffirms, it is in the Council’s ultimate objective to “increase its attention to women, peace and security issues in all relevant thematic areas of work on its agenda, including in threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts[14].” But to have a robust and holistic approach to this recurring issue a stronger political will and transformative agenda is necessary. As summer begins and the UN and its member states are preparing a high-level task force tackling the consequences of conflict on women for the annual General Assembly in September, there is yet another opportunity to push for real change and trace strategies to counter-terrorism activities with a gender perspective.
Recommendations:
· Recognize the critical role of gender in addressing programming and policies related to Countering Violent Extremism (CVE), placing tools that bring together gender, development and counter-terrorism measures within a comprehensive framework.
· Counter-narratives on terrorism need to take on a gender dimension, on which women’s perspectives are strongly motivated and taken into account.
· Integrate a gender perspective in all UN resolutions on CVE. More specifically, place gender mainstreaming in all phases of project planning, from conceptualization to implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
· Prioritize policies for women’s empowerment and their substantial participation in all spheres of society