Black Widow (Chechnya)

Black Widow (Russian: чёрная вдова, chyornaya vdova) or Shahidka (Russian: шахидка—Russian feminine gender derivation from shahid), is a term for Islamist Chechen female suicide bombers, willing to be a manifestation of violent jihad. They became known at the Moscow theater hostage crisis of October 2002. The commander Shamil Basayev referred to the shahidkas as a part of force of his suicide bombers called the Riyad-us Saliheen Brigade of Martyrs. Basayev also stated that he himself trained at least fifty of the Black Widows. The female suicide bombers have carried out over 65% of the 23 terrorist attacks linked to the Chechen movement since 2000. The Black Widows are associated with terrorist attacks in Chechnya between 1999 and 2005.
The term "Black Widows" probably originates from these women being widows of men killed by the Russian forces in Chechnya (the connotation of black widow spider is intended). The Black Widows wear black dresses and dark clothing that covers their bodies from head to toe. This attire is supposed to symbolize their personal losses from the Chechen wars. In 2003, the Russian journalist Yulia Yuzik coined the phrase "Brides of Allah" (Невесты Аллаха) when she described the process by which Chechen women were recruited by Basayev and his associates; the phrase was also used again after the Beslan attack, as the title of an installment of the Russian NTV programme Top Secret (Совершенно секретно).
To terrorists, Black Widows are considered less valuable than male terrorists, since male terrorists require formal training, while women terrorists are viewed as expendable. In some cases, when opinions do not match between Black Widows and male terrorists, male terrorists detonate bombs strapped onto Black Widows to get rid of them. Additionally, women terrorists are strategically appealing because they symbolize opposing their traditional roles of being obedient, also women terrorists arouse less suspicion, which terrorists groups are able to take advantages of. Between 1998 and 2001, according to professor Richard Pape of University of Chicago, the average number of deaths caused by a suicide attack is 13 people, while the average deaths caused by suicide attacks from Black Widows is 28, meaning they are twice more deadly than the average suicide bomber.
There are currently forty-seven Chechen Female bombers that have been confirmed based on twenty five successful bombings. These attacks methods include detonating bombs on trucks, cars, usage of explosive devices, or using suicide belts or bags. Some have even detonated their bombs on airplanes.
According to Marc Sagement, who takes part in the Foreign Policy Research Institute's Center for the Study of Terrorism, there is a strong relationship between becoming a Black Widow and having personal connections to terror networks. In other words, recruitment of Black Widows usually occurs through friendships or familial relationships. Approximately, twenty seven percent of Black Widows were married or had personal connections to terrorists before becoming terrorists themselves. Further, Black Widows had similar prior experiences before becoming terrorists. These prior experiences include losing close family members that resulted from conflicts with the Russian forces.
Although Chechen suicide bombers do not have personality disorders prior to becoming terrorists, research shows that they have deep personal trauma, which leads them to embrace terrorist ideologies causing them to join the Black Widows. Furthermore, Chechens believe it is ethically correct to take revenge if one's loved one has died. Another perspective of how Black Widows form is that after traumatic events, people in general, not just Chechen women, tend to turn to extreme religious views to form a sense of identity and belonging. Thus, jihadist ideologies provides this medium for Chechen women who experienced extreme post traumatic experiences thus transforming them into Black Widows. Combined with personal trauma, cultural responsibility for social justice, and extreme religious viewpoints to take revenge, these factors mold Chechen women to become Black Widows.
There have been claims by Yulia Yuzik, a Russian journalist and author of Brides of Allah, that many of the women who have been sold by their parents are used as shahidkas, while others have been kidnapped or tricked. She also claims that many have been prepared to be suicide bombers through narcotics and rape. Several were pregnant at the time. Besayev, who is a leader of the Chechen independence movement and a terrorist, also argued that women are trained for their missions. In addition, Michael Radu argued that these women are specifically trained for suicide attacks. On the other hand, independent journalists including Robert W. Kurz and Charles K. Bartles reject this view, stating that in most cases female Chechen suicide bombers do not fit this model. Mostly, female terrorists are given no training at all in preparation for the suicides as no weapon skill is needed to strap on the explosives. Many do not even blow themselves up, but are blown up by remote controls.
Additionally, some Black Widows have brothers or close relatives who were killed in one of the two Chechen wars between Russia and Islamist rebels since 1994 or in clashes with Russian-backed forces. These women may be driven by grievances or they may feel it is the only option to get their viewpoint seen. Kurz and Bartles offer another view of Black Widows' motives, arguing that these women are much more motivated by revenge, despair, and their drive for an independent state than by religious fundamentalism or individual honor. They may feel that terrorism is a strategy when there is no peaceful outlet to affect politics or that it is the only option for people with extremist views. Black Widows may be driven by the idea of Chechnya gaining independence from Russia or they may have joined the terrorist movement because they were brainwashed and needed a sense of belonging when they were in a state of political turmoil. It is important to note that the Black Widows rarely do interviews, so very little is known about their lives.
After the Dubrovka theater attack, hostages gave mixed reports about what motivates the Black Widows. During the attack, some female suicide bombers reportedly told hostages how their family members had been killed in the war and they felt they had nothing left, thus, they were motivated by family connections. Other hostages reported that some of the Black Widows only talked about the Koran, had extremist viewpoints, and were hard to reason with. A majority of Black Widows are uneducated which may be the result of these extreme perspectives. This also suggests that Black Widows may be driven by ideals about religion or may be out of touch with reality, and brainwashed by the men in their lives to join the cause.
The media depicts the female suicide bombers in two main ways, as motivated by the deaths of men in her life or as in a situation of hopelessness where she is forced into terrorism to get her voice heard. Both the Russian government and Chechen groups portrayed the Black Widows in these ways to support their respective positions. Chechen terrorist leaders emphasized women as victims to humanize the Russian-Chechen Conflict. Media coverage tends to show the female terrorists motives as emotional, such as due to loss of a relative, rather than ideological or political, such as gaining independence from Russia. The New York Times reported on Chechnya and Russia between 1994 and 2004 during the peak of the conflict; its reports often questioned and speculated why women would join the Chechen terrorist groups and largely did not interview the Chechen's involved in the cause. A common media narrative about the Chechen Black Widows is that they joined due to family connections; because they were following men or avenging the deaths of their husbands. Women may also be portrayed as being a terrorist for 'the sake of love'; meaning they join because they have a personal connection to the organization, such as a husband or a boyfriend in the organization. This narrative describes the female terrorists as feminine and passive because they are following the men in their lives to join the terrorist organization. On the other hand, women may also be depicted as tough as a man and given more masculine qualities; and the media may question her feminine qualities.
In 1994, the Russian press began to note rumors of female suicide bombers and female snipers; these rumors were proven credible due to the occasional arrests and the known involvement of women in the attacks during the Russian-Chechen Conflict. On November 29, 2001, journalists reported the attempted assassination of General Gadzhiyez by a suicide bomber attack This attack received relatively little attention from the western press, but may have been the first Black Widow attack. On October 23, 2002, the female terrorists gained international media attention when they seized the Dubrovka Theater. During this attack, female terrorists were filmed and interviewed by the press. This is one of the first times the Black Widows had a voice in the media.