Index
Page numbers refer to the print edition but are hyperlinked to the appropriate location in the e-book.
Note: Page numbers followed by f and t refer to figures and tables respectively.
Abu Sayyaf Group. See ASG
African Liberation Support Committee, 92, 128
African National Congress. See ANC
agency of female fighters, 13–14, 32
ANC (African National Congress): anticolonial groups’ support for, 186, 194; female fighters in propaganda of, 76f. See also MK (uMkhonto we Sizwe)
Angel of Kobane, media interest in, 106–107
anti-apartheid movement, 91–92
Aryan Nation, 47
ASG (Abu Sayyaf Group), 56, 199
Bayard de Volo, Lorraine, 81, 235–236n5
Bond, Kanisha, 30–31, 44, 135, 244n18
Cansiz, Sakine, 99
Caucus Emirate, 11
CFMAG (Committee for Freedom in Mozambique, Angola and Guine), 92
Chechen insurgency, female fighters in: motives of, 11, 31; sympathetic media coverage of, 69; use in propaganda, 83
Chicago Committee for the Liberation of Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau, 91
child soldiers: international condemnation of, 233n4; and risk of negative international response, 34; supply and demand theories of, 29–30, 34
CISPES (Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador), 91
civil war vs. conflict, definition of, 232n6
Cock, Jacklyn, 20
Cohen, Dara Kay, 17, 149, 243–244n17
Committee for Freedom in Mozambique, Angola and Guine. See CFMAG
Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador. See CISPES
Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist. See CPN-M
Contras/Democratic Forces of Nicaragua. See FDN
CPN-M (Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist), 2, 53
DDR programs. See disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration programs
diaspora communities: factors affecting support of, 89–90, 205; support of rebel groups by, 64, 88–90, 117, 119–120
disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration programs, 136–138, 208–209, 243n7
Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front. See EPRLF
Elshtain, Jean, 20
EPLF (Eritrean People’s Liberation Front): diaspora community’s support of, 90; NGO support for, 92; support for gender equality, 53
EPLF, female fighters in, 2, 85–86; images of, in recruiting posters, 52f; motives for recruiting, 52; and support for gender equality in Eritrean diaspora, 90; use in propaganda, 185
EPRLF (Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front), 115, 116, 129
equal rights for women. See gender equality
Eritrean People’s Liberation Front. See EPLF
ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna), 55, 74
Ethiopia. See TPLF (Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front)
Euskadi Ta Askatasuna. See ETA
FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia), female fighters in, 2; abuse of, 15; large number of, 85–86; media interest in, 68; as motivation for male comrades, 86; motives for recruiting, 51–52; use in propaganda, 74, 83
FDN (Contras/Democratic Forces of Nicaragua), 217–218
female, definition of, 7
female fighters: abuse by fellow soldiers, 15–17; capability vs. male soldiers, 19; definition of, 7, 136–138; efforts to erase contributions of, 20; essentialist arguments against use of, 18–19; as global phenomenon, 144, 145f; groups with large percentages of, 85–86; history of, 1–2, 9–10; importance contributions of, 197; as indication of support, 185; in national military forces, 18, 19; postwar reintegration programs for, 208–209. See also recruitment of female fighters
Females on the Frontlines, 109
feminism, Marxist rebel groups and, 51, 53, 57
FMLN (Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional): gender bias in, 14, 232n13; groups allied under, 135, 242n5; international activist networks supporting, 91, 238n28; support for gender equality, 53
FMLN, female fighters in, 2; acceptance as equals, 16; motives of, 11; recruiting by, 86, 137; as response to recruiting shortages, 42–43; use in propaganda, 73–74, 79f, 80, 80f, 82–83, 185
forced recruitment, 13, 33–34, 149, 152t, 160
FRELIMO (Frente de Libertação de Moçambique): external support for, 91, 92, 186; female fighters in, use in propaganda, 78f, 79, 185; influence on ZANU, 123
Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional. See FMLN
Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro. See POLISARIO
Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia. See FARC
GAM (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka): reluctance to use female fighters, 39–40; sympathetic media coverage of female fighters in, 67; use of female fighters in propaganda, 74
gender, definition of, 7
gender bias against female fighters: in division of labor, 14–15, 232n13; in regulation of sexual conduct, 232n15
gender equality: commitment to, group characteristics indicating, 44–45; and female fighters’ motives, 11, 30, 31; groups’ rhetoric on, vs. reality, 14, 44, 50–51, 57, 100–101, 111, 112, 123, 130, 201–202, 235n16; groups’ support for, 5, 11, 38
gender norms, traditional: accentuation in wartime, 18, 20–21, 22, 65, 199; and Beautiful Souls narrative, 20; and gendered stereotypes, 18, 22, 65–66, 68–71, 74, 81–85, 235nn3–5; as mobilization tool, 21–22; and oppression of women, 234n13; partial disruption in wartime, 65–66; and resistance to using female fighters, 10–11, 13–14, 17–18, 20–22, 29; similarity across cultures, 98, 199, 235n3, 235n5; as social construct, 7; weakening of, 65–66, 236n6; and women’s reluctance to become female fighters, 237–238n24; women’s role in perpetuating, 20, 233n20
Gerakan Aceh Merdeka. See GAM
Goldstein, Joshua, 10, 18, 19, 20, 43
Greek Civil War, female fighters in, 2, 43
Hamas, and female fighters, 11, 31, 48
Hezbollah, and female fighters, 31, 48
ideology: definition of, 45; differing influence on men vs. women, 207–208; influence on group behavior, 234n12; as motive for female fighters, 11–12, 30, 32
Indian Peacekeeping Force. See IPKF
international support: by diaspora communities, 64, 88–90, 117, 119–120; by foreign governments, 63, 64, 238n26; groups’ efforts to gain, 88, 238n26; importance of, 6, 63–64, 88; by international organizations, 64, 92–93; legitimacy of struggle and, 64; by NGOs, 88, 89, 90–93, 108–109; by non-state actors, 64, 90–93, 94; by transnational activist networks, 64, 90–92, 238n28. See also diaspora communities
IPKF (Indian Peacekeeping Force), and LTTE, 115–116, 117
ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria): female fighters in, and gender norms, 48; media interest in female fighters in, 68; motives of female fighters in, 31; PKK conflict against, 106–107, 109–110
Islamist rebel movements: political goals of, 48–49; transnational support for, 186
Islamist rebel movements, female fighters in, 48–50, 232n9; and gender norms, 48–50; ideological motives of, 11, 48; as suicide bombers, 49–50, 161
Ku Klux Klan, and gender norms, 47
Kurdish militias, media coverage of female fighters in, 1, 67–69. See also PKK
Kurdish Women’s Protection Units. See YPG
Kurdistan Free Life Party. See PJAK
Kurdistan Workers’ Party. See PKK
Lebanese Civil War, 32
leftist groups: appeal of ideology to women, 11; definition of, 147; external support for, 128, 193–194; and feminism, 51, 53, 57; gender equality stances, 5, 11, 28, 46, 50–54; leaders’ experience with female political activism, 38, 54; nationalism and, 55–56; practical considerations, 51–52; support for women’s equality, 27; varying degrees of theoretical knowledge in, 235n18
legitimacy: and international support, 64; and politics of labeling, 237n17; rebel groups’ struggle for, 71–72
Liberation Support Movement. See LSM
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. See LTTE
LSM (Liberation Support Movement): support for national liberation movements, 79–80, 128; use of female fighters in propaganda, 78f, 80, 82
LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam), 110–121; Black Tigers, 113–114; diaspora support of, 89, 117, 119–120; and Eelam War II, 116, 130; and gender equality in Sri Lanka, 239n3; goals of, 97–98, 110; ideology of, 110–112; and IPKF, 115–116; loss of Indian government support, 115, 119, 129; organizational structure of, 120–121; women’s rights platform of, 111, 112–113
LTTE, female fighters in: abuse of, 15, 16; casualties, 119; ideology and, 43; late adoption of, 43, 119; leaders’ awareness of propaganda value of, 117–118, 131; media interest in, 69, 116, 117–118; recruitment of, as response to recruiting shortages, 42, 112–116, 114f, 118–119, 129–130, 201–202; roles of, 199; as suicide bombers, 117–118; timing of recruitment, 111–112, 113–114, 129; use in propaganda, 116–120, 130–131, 185, 202
Lutheran World Federation, 91
M-19 (19th of April Movement), 218–219
Marx, Karl, 51
Marxist rebel groups. See leftist groups
media: and Chechen insurgency, 69; and FARC, 68; and GAM, 67; interest in female fighters, 1, 2, 67–71, 106–107, 116–117, 236n9, 236n15, 240n13; and ISIS and, 68; and Kurdish militia, 67, 68, 69; and LTTE, 69, 116, 117–118; and PKK, 1, 67, 68, 69, 106–107, 107–108, 107–109, 236n15, 240n12; of rebel groups, prominence of female fighters in, 107–109; and Spanish Civil War, 69, 236–237n16; and terrorist attacks, 69; use in recruitment, 35–36, 39, 67; and YPG, 1, 69, 106–107, 108, 236n15. See also propaganda for rebel groups
MEK (Mujahadeen-e-Khalq), 74
MFDC (Mouvement des Forces Démocratiques de Casamance), 199, 221
MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front), 56, 141
MK (uMkhonto we Sizwe), 37, 73
Moro Islamic Liberation Front. See MILF
Mouvement des Forces Démocratiques de Casamance. See MFDC
Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola. See MPLA
MPLA (Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola), 78f, 79, 185
Mugabe, Robert, 123
Mugabe, Sally, 123
Mujahadeen-e-Khalq. See MEK
Namibia Support Committee. See NSC
nationalist groups: on both right and left, 47, 55–56; definition of, 55; and female fighters, 11, 55–56, 111–112; support of anticolonial organizations for, 186
National Liberation Army [Yugoslavia]. See NLA
National Liberation Front [Vietnam]. See NLF
National Resistance Army [Uganda]. See NRA
National Union for Eritrean Women. See NUEW
New People’s Army. See NPA
Nhongo-Simbanegavi, Josephine, 15, 241–242n34
19th of April Movement. See M-19
NLA (National Liberation Army [Yugoslavia]), 27–28, 75f
NLF (National Liberation Front [Vietnam]), 16, 42, 73, 86, 87
noncombat support roles for women in rebel forces, 2–3; and freeing of men for combat, 238n25; as gender bias, 14; and gender norms, 7–8; importance of, 8; types of jobs, 8; as women’s preference, 232n13
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs): gender imagery in propaganda campaigns by, 92; support for rebel movements, 88, 89, 90–93, 108–109; support of, as signal of legitimacy, 174
NPA (New People’s Army [Philippines]), gender bias in, 14–15
NRA (National Resistance Army [Uganda]), 31
NSC (Namibia Support Committee), 74–75, 77f, 92
NUEW (National Union for Eritrean Women), 90
OSPAAAL (Organization of Solidarity of the Peoples of Africa, Asia, and Latin America), 79f, 80
PAIGC (Partido Africano da Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde), 86, 92
Palestinian Islamic Jihad. See PIJ
Partido Africano da Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde. See PAIGC
Partiya Jiyana Azad a Kurdistanê. See PJAK
Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê. See PKK
Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), 146
PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine), 2, 75f, 185, 199
PIJ (Palestinian Islamic Jihad), 31, 199
PIRA (Provisional Irish Republican Army): diaspora support of, 89; female fighters in, 2; motives of female fighters in, 31; use of female fighters in propaganda, 76f
PJAK (Partiya Jiyana Azad a Kurdistanê), 101, 238–239n1
PKK (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê), 99–110; allied groups, 101, 238–239n1; cultural setting of, 97, 98; diaspora support for, 89; founding meeting for, 99; and gender equality, 32–33, 100–103, 105, 107–108, 130; goals of, 97; as Kurdish group, 97; Marxist ideology of, 99, 129, 201; NGOs supporting, 108–109; and terrorism, 104–105, 109–110
PKK, female fighters in: late inclusion of, 99, 102, 105, 129, 201; leaders’ awareness of propaganda value of, 130–131; media interest in, 1, 67, 68, 69, 106–107, 236n15, 240n12; motives for joining, 99, 201; motives for recruitment of, 99; prominence in groups’ digital media outlets, 107–109; recruitment by, 87; recruitment of, 101–105, 102, 104f, 130; use in propaganda, 105–110, 130–131, 202
POLISARIO (Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro), 242n12
political violence by women: participation in atrocities, 9; scholarship on, 9–14, 232n7
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. See PFLP
Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro. See POLISARIO
propaganda for rebel groups, by allied organizations, 74–81, 77f–79f
propaganda for rebel groups, use of female fighters in, 73–83, 75f–80f, 105–110, 116–120, 123, 127–129, 130–131, 202; accentuation of role, 177, 183, 195; as claim to legitimacy, 6, 64, 66, 67, 68–71, 72, 81–85, 88, 94–95, 109, 117, 185; movements’ awareness of value of, 107, 127–129, 194–195
Provisional Irish Republican Army. See PIRA
Al-Qaeda, 11
recruitment of female fighters, 36–41; delays in, 36–37; factors in, 203–204; and fear of distractions, 38; gender norms and, 37–38, 44; and group cohesion, 31, 38, 44; and morale, 38, 44; need for, 33–35; pre-existing political networks and, 12, 30; previous activist work with women and, 38, 54; vs. recruitment of women for support roles, 7–8; and risk of alienating supporters, 31, 38–41, 44, 49–50, 53–54, 57, 58, 200, 204, 234n8; as strategic decision, 201; supply and demand models of, 30–32; supply of potential volunteers, 31, 37, 56, 85, 237–238n24; typical late adoption of, 36–37, 43, 65, 99, 119; value of female fighters as motive for, 31, 35–36. See also gender norms, traditional
religious women, 207–208
Revolutionary United Front. See RUF
right-wing groups: reluctance to violate gender norms, 45–48, 47f; on role of women, 46–47
RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front), 89
RUF (Revolutionary United Front), 2, 85–86, 199
Sandinistas: female fighters in, 11; female fighters’ influence on policies of, 32; late adoption of female fighters, 36–37; support for gender equality, 53
Sendero Luminoso, 42
Serbian nationalist groups, female fighters in, 86
sexual violence against civilians: by women, 16–17, 235n1
Al-Shabaab, 31
shaming of male recruits, 6, 86–87, 93, 94, 107, 120, 170, 241n26
Sjoberg, Laura, 21, 69, 233n17, 236n15
Southern African Liberation Committee, 91, 128
South West African People’s Liberation Organization. See SWAPO
Soviet Army, female fighters in, 43, 234n10
Spanish Civil War: anti-Fascist forces, gender bias in, 15; and gender norms, 21–22
Spanish Civil War. female fighters in, 2; abuse of, 15; media coverage of, 67, 69, 236–237n16; use in propaganda images, 73
suicide bombers, female: and female combatant prevalence, 149–150, 153t, 161; and international support, 184–185, 187, 188t; Islamists’ justifications for use of, 49–50; in LTTE suicide force, 113–114; as only combat role for women in some groups, 140, 161; strategic value of, 12, 35, 149, 235n1; sympathetic media coverage of, 69; in WARD coding, 142, 142f, 143
SWAPO (South West African People’s Liberation Organization): acceptance of female fighters, 16; external support for, 74–75, 92, 186, 194; as nationalist movement, 55; publications of, 237n20; use of female fighters, 55; use of female fighters in propaganda, 73, 77f, 92–93
Terik-i-Taliban, 31
terrorist attacks: female fighters in, 2, 12, 35, 149, 235n1. See also suicide bombers, female
Thomas, Jakana, 30–31, 44, 135, 146, 147, 161, 208, 244n18
Tigrayan People’s liberation Front. See TPLF
Tito, Josip Broz, 28
TPLF (Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front): female fighters as equals in, 16; NGO support for, 92; roles of female fighters in, 199, 219–220
transnational activist networks, 62, 64, 88, 90–92, 238n28. See also international support
uMkhonto we Sizwe. See MK
União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola. See UNITA
Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca. See URNG
UNITA (União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola), 92
URNG (Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca), 31
Viterna, Jocelyn, 14, 16, 42, 82–83, 86, 137, 232n13
WARD. See Women in Armed Rebellion Dataset
White Feather Brigades, 21, 233n21
Wilby, Adele Ann, 118
women, improved public perception of organizations including, 83–84
Women in Armed Rebellion Dataset (WARD), 134–145; coding narratives in, 217–221; coding process for, 136, 242n6; creation of, xi; data included in, 135–136; version history of, 212t–215t
Wood, Elisabeth Jean, 65–66
Wood, Reed, 146, 147, 161, 208
Woolf, Virginia, 19
World Council of Churches, 91
World War II, 2, 21, 43, 234n10
Yekîneyên Parastina Gel. See YPG
Yekîneyên Parastina Jin. See YPJ
YPG (Yekîneyên Parastina Gel): avoidance of terrorist label, 109; female fighters’ prominence in digital media of, 108; gender equality in, 101; media interest in female fighters of, 1, 69, 106–107, 236n15; NGOs supporting, 108–109; as PKK-allied group, 238–239n1; public interest in female fighters of, 240n12; social media use by, 108
YPJ (Yekîneyên Parastina Jin): emphasis on gender equality, 108; female fighters’ prominence in digital media of, 108; NGOs supporting, 108–109; social media use by, 108
Yugoslav Partisan forces, 14. See also NLA (National Liberation Army [Yugoslavia])
ZANLA (Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army): as anticolonial rebellion, 98; cultural setting of, 98; gender bias in, 14; and gender equality support, 123–124, 127–128, 130, 202; goals of, 123; international support for, 127–129, 128, 186, 194; Marxist/Maoist ideology of, 123, 124, 130, 202, 241–242n32; as nationalist group, 55; Soviet support of, 123
ZANLA, female fighters in, 2, 55; abuse of, 15; acceptance as equals, 16; and alienation of local population, 40, 234n8; costs of using, 124; integration into existing battalions, 122, 241n31; leaders’ awareness of propaganda value of, 127–129; in leadership positions, 122; recruitment of, as response to recruiting shortages, 42, 124–127, 126f, 201; in support roles, 122, 137–138; use in propaganda, 82, 123, 127–129, 131, 202; and winning of local support, 128–129
ZANU (Zimbabwe African National Union): female fighters in, use in propaganda, 75, 77f; and gender equality, support for, 123; international activist networks supporting, 92; ZANLA as military arm of, 121
ZAPU (Zimbabwe African People’s Union), 121
Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army. See ZANLA
Zimbabwe African National Union. See ZANU
Zimbabwe African People’s Union. See ZAPU
Zimbabwean War of Liberation: factions in, 121–129; female fighters’ influence on, 32, 121–122, 241n29
Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army. See ZIPRA
ZIPRA (Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army): Chinese support of, 123; and gender equality support, 129, 130, 202; goals of, 123; international support for, 127, 128; Marxist/Maoist ideology of, 123, 124, 130
ZIPRA, female fighters in: leaders’ awareness of propaganda value of, 127; in leadership positions, 122; limited exposure to combat, 122; recruitment of, 124–127, 126f, 201, 202; sensitivity to costs of using, 124; separate women’s battalions for, 121–122; use in propaganda, 82, 127–129, 131, 202; and winning of local support, 128–129