Why Boko Haram Deploys Female Suicide Bombers And Who These Women Are
On June 29, 2024, Gwoza, Borno State, Nigeria, was shattered by a brutal attack carried out by suspected Islamic State West Africa (ISWA) or Boko Haram operatives. Multiple female suicide bombers struck in quick succession, first targeting a crowded wedding ceremony at 3 PM, a second detonating explosives outside the General Hospital, and a third at a funeral - disguised as a mourning attendee. These coordinated bombings claimed at least 18 lives and left over 100 injured, plunging the community into grief and terror. This attack underscores Boko Haram’s continued use of women in their violent campaigns, highlighting the group’s ruthless tactics and disregard for human life.
While no group has officially claimed responsibility, all signs point to Boko Haram, the region’s ISIS affiliate. This attack highlighted the group’s continued reliance on women to carry out their deadly missions. In another significant event, a female bomber targeted a local marketplace, causing numerous casualties and further demonstrating the terrorist outfit’s ruthless methods.
Why the use of women?
Boko Haram, an extremist militant group originating in northeastern Nigeria, has increasingly utilized female suicide bombers as part of their strategy to instill terror and propagate their ideology. This disturbing trend has not only escalated the group’s capacity for violence but also underscored their brutal tactics involving women and girls.
Many of the women used as suicide bombers by Boko Haram are often young girls and women who the group has kidnapped. These captives are subjected to intense indoctrination, coercion, and, in many cases, outright threats to their lives or the lives of their families. Boko Haram’s abduction of women and girls has been well-documented, most infamously with the kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls in 2014. The group has continued to abduct females from villages, schools, and even highways, forcing them into roles as bombers, combatants, and slaves.
The group, officially known as Jama’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihad, which means “Group of the People of Sunnah for Preaching and Jihad,” was founded in 2002 by Mohammed Yusuf. The group initially focused on opposing Western education and advocating for the implementation of Sharia law across Nigeria. However, after Yusuf died in 2009 and under the leadership of Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram’s tactics became increasingly violent, culminating in a full-scale insurgency. Boko Haram pledged allegiance to and was accepted as a branch of Islamic State in March 2015 and renamed itself as ISWAP, meaning Islamic State’s West Africa Province.
The use of female suicide bombers by Boko Haram began to gain prominence around 2014. This tactic serves multiple purposes: women can often evade detection more easily than men, they can access targets that might be off-limits to males, and their use as bombers maximizes psychological impact and societal shock. This strategy underscores the group’s utter disregard for human life and the well-being of their own recruits.
Boko Haram’s exploitation of female suicide bombers is a stark reminder of the group’s horrible and manipulative nature. By forcing kidnapped women and girls into roles as human bombs, they not only extend their reach of terror but also perpetuate a cycle of violence and trauma.
Such a situation also stands as a stark reminder that things aren’t always what they seem. To me, it is the epitome of evil to kidnap children and force them to take their own lives and the lives of many others.
The international community and local governments must continue to work together to combat this threat, provide support and rehabilitation for survivors, and strive to dismantle the oppressive systems that allow such groups to flourish.
FOR EXCLUSIVE GLOBAL CONTENT AND DIRECT MESSAGING, PLEASE CONSIDER A PAID SUBSCRIPTION TO THIS SUBSTACK TO HELP KEEP INDEPENDENT, AGENDA-FREE WRITING AND JOURNALISM ALIVE. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
For speaking queries please contact meta@metaspeakers.org
For ghostwriting, personalized mentoring or other writing/work-related queries please contact hollie@holliemckay.com
Follow me on Instagram and Twitter for more updates
Order The Dictator’s Wife (out June 10)
Click Here to Order from my publisher DAP Publications (please support small business!)
Click to Purchase all Other Books Here