Symbolism in Female Terrorism: Five Overarching Themes

• In Event: Feminists Examine Violence and Heroism

Abstract

This paper examines symbolism in female terrorism through five overarching themes. These themes symbolize (1) continuity of the fight, (2) strategic desirability, (3) revenge, (4) restoration of honor, and (5) change. For example, during the First Intifada, Palestinian women were symbolic warriors in the resistance movement. Today, terror propagandists increasingly exploit this type of female zeal to further justify terrorism against their enemies. Taken as a whole, these five overarching themes shed light on a phenomenon that tends to be underrepresented in the mainstream media. An important conclusion of this analysis is that female terrorism symbolizes a grand strategy to strike the enemy in unremitting ways (i.e., “continuity of the fight”), in unprecedented ways (i.e., “strategic desirability” and “change”), and sometimes as the only viable way (i.e., “revenge” and “restoration of honor”)

Author

• Jonathan Matusitz, University of Central Florida