The Black Widows of Chechnya: Overview and Motivation

2742 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Russian women of war world ii essay

The decades' old Chechen conflict has not received much media coverage in the West; however, there has been one aspect of this struggle which has been reported upon: female suicide bombers, known as “Black Widows”. Various sources attribute their actions to being victims who suffered traumatic loss of loved ones, brainwashing by Islamist zealots, being rape and/or being drugged. In my paper, I sought to learn more about the motivations of these women to see if there is more behind than what I perceived to be stereotypical reasons for their actions offered in the media. I discovered that their reality and motivation is complex, based on past and recent history of Chechnya and the culture of indigenous Chechen society.

To better understand the current situation, it is important to understand the relationship between Chechnya and Russia. Prior to 1994, Chechnya was a secular Muslim “state” within the former USSR and the Russian Federations. As the Russian Federation began to assume its standing in the place of the USSR, the former member states of the USSR pushed for various recognitions of independence within the proposed federative treaty. In March 1992, the Republic of Chechnya refused to sign the treaty and formally declared its independence from Moscow. Chechnya was the only entity to make this declaration and attempt at secession among Russia’s 89 republics and region. (6) In 1994, under the direction of then Russian President Boris Yeltsin, Chechnya’s independence aspirations were quashed when Russian forces attacked and effectively leveled Grozny, Chechnya’s capital city. The result was a truce, lasting from 1996-1999. During this timeframe, Chechen separatists began bombing various pro-Russian government and ...

... middle of paper ...

...'Connor, Alisa. "Picked Last: Women and Terrorism." Joint Force Quarterly. Version Issue 44,. National Defense University Inst for National Strategic Studies, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. .

18 Struckman, S.. "The Veiled Women And Masked Men Of Chechnya: Documentaries, Violent Conflict, And Gender." Journal of Communication Inquiry 30.4 (2006): 337-353. Print.

19 West, Jessica. "Feminist IR and the Case of the Black Widows: Reproducing Gendered Divisions." Innovations - A Journal of Politics 5 (2004): 1-16. www.ucalgary.ca. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.

20 Zimmer, Ben. "How Black Widows Became Spiders - and Terrorists." The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 24 Jan. 2014. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. .

.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Cherrie Moraga's Vendida

    1606 Words  | 4 Pages

    As much as men are working, so are women, but ultimately they do not face the same obstacles. For example, “Even if one subscribes to a solely economic theory of oppression, how can one ignore that over half of the world's workers are female who suffer discrimination not only in the workplace, but also at home and in all the areas sex-related abuse” (Moraga 98). This gives readers a point of view in which women are marginalized in the work place, at home, and other areas alike. Here Moraga gives historical accounts of Chicana feminists and how they used their experiences to give speeches and create theories that would be of relevance. More so, Moraga states how the U.S. passes new bills that secretly oppress the poor and people of color, which their community falls under, and more specifically, women. For instance, “The form their misogyny takes is the dissolution of government-assisted abortions for the poor, bills to limit teenage girls’ right to birth control ... These backward political moves hurt all women, but most especially the poor and "colored." (Moraga 101). This creates women to feel powerless when it comes to control one’s body and leads them to be oppressed politically. This places the government to act as a protagonist, and the style of writing Moraga places them in, shines more light to the bad they can do, especially to women of color. Moraga uses the words, “backward moves”

    Read More

  • Dalton Conley You May Ask Yourself Analysis

    395 Words  | 1 Pages

    In Brym’s article he discusses what research has shown about the motivations of suicide bombers. Brym and my fellow classmate explained to me how suicide bombers may be motivated by politics, religion, or retaliatory aims (Brym, Kyra Howard). Both Brym and Howard helped me view the issue of suicide bombers in multiple

    Read More

  • Boston Marathon Bombings

    1908 Words  | 4 Pages

    Retrieved from http://www.terrorismanalysts.com/pt/index.php/pot/article/view/268/540 White, J. R. (2014). Terrorism and homeland security (8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

    Read More

  • Shirley Chisholm

    876 Words  | 2 Pages

    Yuval-Davis. Who's Afraid of Feminism? Ed. Ann Oakley and Juliet Mitchell. New York: The New Press, 1997.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Lila Abu-Lughod’s Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?

    816 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lila Abu-Lughod’s article titled, “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?” takes a closer look at the problematic ethnocentric approach many have when trying to gain an understanding of another culture that may be foreign to that individual. In this analytical paper, Lughod looks at women in Islam, specifically the treatment of women and how it might be utilized as a justification for invading into a country and liberating its people. The country Lughod refers to in her article is Afghanistan, and Lughod points out the misunderstanding from the people to the Bush administration like First Lady Laura Bush who believed that intervention was necessary to free women from the captivity of their own homes. It is important to consider the role that different lenses play into all of this, especially when one’s lenses are being shaped by the media. Depictions of covered women secluded from society leave a permanent image in the minds of many, who would then later support the idea of liberation. This paper will discuss that the practice of using propaganda when referring to the lifestyle in the Middle East is not exclusive to the U.S; rather it has been utilized throughout history. Additionally, we will take a closer look on the importance of symbols, such as veils in this case; help to further emphasize the cause to liberate. Finally, we will analyze Lughod’s plea towards cultural relativism and away from liberal imperialism.

    Read More

  • Joan of Arc's Effect on the Hundred Years' War

    907 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sullivan, Winnifred Fallers. "Joan's Two Bodies: A Study in Political Anthropology." Social Research 78, no. 2 (Summer 2011): 307-324. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed March 30, 2014).

    Read More

  • 11-M: March 11, 2004 Madrid Train Bombings

    1894 Words  | 4 Pages

    Retrieved from Tures, J. (2009). The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Do Terrorists Win Elections? The Journal of the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security. Retrieved from http://www.hsaj.org/?fullarticle=5.3.5 White, J. a.

    Read More

  • Anti-Slavery International

    1016 Words  | 3 Pages

    Centre of Contemporary Central Asia and the Caucasus. What Has Changed? Issue brief no. 64329. London: University of London, 2010. Print.

    Read More

  • Women's Rights in the Middle East

    1683 Words  | 4 Pages

    Palmer, Caitriona. "The Taliban's War On Women." Lancet 352.9129 (1998): 734. Business Source Complete. Web. 4 May 2014. .

    Read More

  • The Living Dead of Afghanistan

    1904 Words  | 4 Pages

    Travesties are committed against women every day, in every country, in every city, town and home. In Afghanistan women are not only discriminated against, they are publicly reduced to animals. Women are deprived of basic human rights: they are not allowed to travel outside their homes without being completely covered by the traditional shroud-like burqa; they are not allowed to speak or walk loudly in public; they are not allowed to laugh or speak with other women; they are not allowed to attend school nor work; they are expected to be invisible; they are the ghosts of what were once educated, notable, and successful women. With their ruthless and extreme laws, the Taliban have effectively removed the physical presence of women in Afghanistan. The Taliban have stolen the very souls of these women and have turned them into the “living dead” of Afghanistan. The Taliban’s harsh restrictions and extreme religious laws have tainted the freedoms and basic human rights of the once valued and prominent women of Afghanistan.

    Read More

  • Terrorism and Moral Panic in America

    1644 Words  | 4 Pages

    Herman, E. & Sullivan, G. O.1989. The Terrorism Industry: The Experts and Institutions That Shape Our View of Terror. New York: Pantheon.

    Read More

  • The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism by Pape, Bloom, and Horowitz

    1414 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Terrorism involves the use of violence by an organization other than a national government to cause intimidation or fear among a target audience;” at least, this is how Pape (2003) defines terrorism in his article “The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism” (343). The goal of this article by Pape is to discuss suicide terrorism and how it “follows a strategic logic, one specifically designed to coerce modern liberal democracies to make significant territorial concessions” (343). Similar to Pape, Bloom (2004) and Horowitz (2010) also delve into the exponential increase of suicide terrorism and why it occurs. Although Pape, Bloom, and Horowitz concur that suicide terrorism is increasing, they disagree why it is so prominent. While the arguments presented from each of these researchers is powerful and certainly plausible, suicide terrorism is in fact not irrational, but strategic and is most often caused by state occupation and, when organized, aimed specifically at democracies.

    Read More

  • Research Essay: Can Terrorism Ever Be Justified?

    1685 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...d 50,000 casualties (Effective human rights work is the best weapon against terrorism). There are nonviolent ways of dealing with oppression, following Gandhi’s example, and even the Boston Tea Party which brought changes with little violence. This Chechen conflict has been on-going for over 200 years, and unfortunately terrorist leaders continue to think terrorism will advance their cause even after much time has passed (Dershowitz 166).

    Read More

  • The Women's Liberation Movement

    1111 Words  | 3 Pages

    As women, those of us who identify as feminists have rebelled against the status quo and redefined what it means to be a strong and powerful woman. But at what cost do these advances come with?... ... middle of paper ... ... Retrieved April 12, 2014, from http://www.feminist.com/resources/artspeech/genwom/whatisfem.htm Bidgood, J. 2014, April 8 -.

    Read More

  • Essay On Feminist Contribution To International Relations

    984 Words  | 2 Pages

    To understand a Feminist scholar’s perspective of security, there needs to be clarification of their understanding of International Relations. For an individual without knowledge of IR, they are accustomed “Such an approach helps focus attention on current and emerging threats to the security and well-being of individuals and communities” (UN 2014). Moreover, women are important when it comes to negotiating peace agreements, planning refugee camps, and peacekeeping operations, as well as reconstructing war-torn societies (UNIFEM 2004). A Feminist’s perspective in security studies challenges the focus on military solutions and pushes attention towards addressing structural problems, additionally, they believe in prevention rather than intervention; e.g. civilian solutions rather than military solutions. Feminist’s goals are to resolve issues within the state first.

    Read More

More about The Black Widows of Chechnya: Overview and Motivation

Open Document