MUST READ: DRESSED IN BLACK: A LOOK AT PAKISTAN'S RADICAL WOMEN

Dressed in Black: A Look at Pakistan's Radical Women

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The Birth of Female Jihadi Groups

The "Talibanization" of women in Pakistan occurred years ago. During the Afghan jihad, while men fought on the battlefield, women played key roles as mothers, daughters and wives of male jihadis. Traditionally, they provided logistics and facilitation support to their men. Articles by and for women during and after the Afghan war against the Soviets figured prominently in jihadi magazines published in Peshawar. In one editorial, a woman indicated, "We stand shoulder to shoulder with our men, supporting them, helping them…We educate their sons and we prepare ourselves…We march in the path of jihad for the sake of Allah, and our goal is Shahada [martyrdom]." Like the women supporting the Afghan jihad, the Jamia Hafsa women indicated their right to conduct suicide attacks against "those who are against Islam. We are oppressed and an oppressed community has the right to register its protest" (Daily Times, February 2).

Muslim women fighting alongside Muslim men in other conflicts in the Islamic world also share the same spirit of jihad. They include Palestinian, Chechen, European Muslim converts and the women of al-Qaeda [3]. In most cases, participation in violent acts is partly the result of the women's shared sense of identity with the cause as well as their familial connection to the male jihadis [4].

Additionally, women as nurturers of an Islamic society are not unique to Pakistan. It is a role that has been mandated by Islamic law and doctrine, as is evident in the Quran and the hadith literature, and in oral traditions. Muslim women are largely respected for their maternal character; they are seen as nurturing, comforting and patient. A woman's role as the mother of the faithful also includes the mother of martyrs. While this may surprise Western observers, it is rooted in Islamic history. After all, women in the early Islamic period glorified their sons, husbands and brothers for achieving martyrdom by fighting in the first battles of Islam against a clear aggressor. The same holds true in conflicts in the Muslim world today. From the revolutionary period in Iran to the conflicts in the Arab world today, Muslim women praise their men for waging jihad. Yet, what is less known is how men, whom the women often rally behind, are increasingly exploiting them.

Radicalization of Women

The emerging trend of women being motivated by men to chant slogans of jihad can also be traced to female-only dars (religious gatherings) across Pakistan and is evident in women's right-wing publications. A private discussion with a female journalist in Karachi and a television host indicated that there are a rising number of women, even among the elites, who participate in religious gatherings to discuss U.S. foreign policies and the call for jihad [7]. The propagation of jihad in these private, female-only gatherings also encourages women to adopt the ultra-conservative Islamic form of dress and to reject Western and particularly American influences. According to a female professor of Gender Studies at Peshawar University, female students are now wearing the burqa in a city that was once known for its liberal and moderate Islamic practices [8].

Across the country, the women in black are beginning to appeal to women of all ages and socio-economic classes. The allure of Islam can be explained by the U.S. "war on terrorism" that has fueled resentment toward, disillusionment with and hatred of U.S. foreign policies across the Muslim world. This is particularly true in Pakistan, a country whose support for the U.S. war on terrorism is viewed as short-lived. As one former high-ranking Pakistani official indicated, the war on terrorism is "not our war" [10]. Various jihadi publications, including the Ghazwa Time and the Ummat—Osama bin Laden's mouthpiece—express dissatisfaction with the United States for its overall foreign involvement in the Muslim world, including the current war in Iraq.

Other examples of radical women in the region include Asiya Andrabi, the leader of Jammu and Kashmir's separatist women's organization Dukhtaran-e-Milat (Daughters of the Faith). She argues that women have a right to protect their honor and homes from the enemy—in this case, the Indian army. In March of this year, Asiya told an Indian female researcher that while it is men's duty to wage jihad, women would support female bombers if and when the tactic became necessary [11]. Asiya has been arrested by authorities for passing money to Pakistan-based terrorist groups, such as the Hizb ul-Mujahideen, of which her husband was a commander [12].

In Pakistani jihadi groups, women are also members of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT)—which is affiliated with al-Qaeda and is on the U.S. Department of State's list of terrorist organizations. Known as the Lashkar's Women Brigade, media reports have cited a training camp for female militants in northern Pakistan (Times of India, April 6). In an April 14 article, a writer and member of Jamaat al-Islami also supported the idea of giving Muslim women basic combat training.

Serving a Male Agenda

Male religious extremists, leaders of madaras (seminaries) and jihadi organizations are increasingly using women as a tool of nationalism to support their rise to political power. Male jihadi leaders know how to manipulate women to win political attention and public sympathy. In a society where women do not have access to education (as compared to men) and are largely illiterate, women can easily fall prey to male interpretations of Islamic doctrine and are vulnerable to being co-opted by them. An interview with the former Pakistani information minister and the editor of an Urdu newspaper indicated that these women "are docile and under the subjugation of women; they are exploited by the maulvis (mullahs) to challenge the authorities and create fear" [13].

Increasingly, male extremists are politicizing traditional women by pushing for women's participation in the global jihad. By using women, these men are able to shield their activities and whereabouts from the authorities. Women are the "human shield" as they are invisible to the public. They are able to conceal their identities by cloaking their faces in the burqa and are untouched by male officers. A retired brigadier of the Pakistani military told the author, "These male cowards are hiding behind the women to protect them, which is contrary to Islam."

Others see it differently. According to Pakistan's leading talk show host, Hamid Mir, the Hafsa case "was projected to divert the public attention away from the judicial crisis" in Pakistan [14]. Mir also noted to the author that Pakistan "cannot fire tear gas at these women because they are guarding his [Musharraf's political] interest." A Taliban leader in Afghanistan also believes that Musharraf is slow to act against the women to "malign us" [15]. A more startling view by another Pakistani observer notes that the male custodians of Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa seminaries confirm that "Pakistan's mosques and seminaries raise terrorists and not scholars" (Dawn, April 15).

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Pertinent Links:

1) Dressed in Black: A Look at Pakistan's Radical Women