Gender in War

While doing research for my group project in this class, I came across an article about female suicide bombers. I was immediately intrigued because of the discussions we have been having about females as violent. This text, by Nino Kemoklidze, centers on the stereotype of women as victims and how that is applied to female suicide bombers. The author uses the so-called Black Widows of Chechnya as her example of a group of female suicide bombers. Kemoklidze sets the stage by talking about the patriarchal background of the Chechens to better explain the role the women play in this type of society. She then goes on to explain that even as these women were taking the lives of so many, the media still portrayed them as victims. Society could not understand why a self-sacrificing woman would take her life and others unless she was forced into it. Where as a male suicide bomber would be portrayed as evil the woman can only be portrayed as weak and vulnerable. Kemoklidze challenges the reader to realize that a woman can be political and trying to fight for the independence of her country without being forced by men. A woman can be dangerous and violent.

            This article was very interesting to read because Kemoklidze forces the reader to question the stereotypes they have of women and their ability to inflict harm. She argues that especially in a society as patriarchal as the Chechen society that the idea of a woman as harmless and vulnerable is just that, an idea. She argues that it is demonstrated especially by the Black Widows because they blow the stereotype completely out of the water. Here are women intentionally harming those around them as part of a political movement. This is a very good argument for the idea that gender in war is socially constructed by the media surrounding the conflict.