ABSTRACT

Like traditional warfare, terrorism is associated with males more than with females, despite the fact that women have long been active in violent political conflict. Indeed, women played a central role in one of the earliest manifestations of political terror – the French Revolution – and have participated in other terrorist movements throughout history (Levy 1997). The participation levels of female members in terrorist organizations vary dramatically, however. In an earlier examination of women in Latin-American guerrilla movements (Gonzalez-Perez 2006), I argued that women tend to be more active in organizations that promote a domestic agenda and less active in those seeking change on an international level. Moreover, I argued that women were more apt to attain higher levels of responsibility, both in combat and with respect to policy-making, in groups with a domestic agenda, whereas women in international terrorist organizations typically filled only subordinate roles.