The use of women and children in suicide bombing by the Boko Haram terrorist Group in Nigeria

Suicide in children: Concept analysis using Rodgers's evolutionary approach

“…Imbalances of power in society were mostly identified in Indigenous research, and gender and sexual minority oriented research. One article addressed the Nigerian terrorist context in which female teens are recruited, kidnaped, or abducted by terrorist groups who consider them to be available instruments for suicide missions (Nnam et al, 2018). These researchers stated that the exploitation of teenaged girls and women is the “consequence of a direct power relationship between Nigerian men, and women in whom men have fundamental and concrete interests in controlling, using and oppressing women with [the] practice of domination as rooted in patriarchy” (Nnam et al, 2018, p. 36).…”

“…One article addressed the Nigerian terrorist context in which female teens are recruited, kidnaped, or abducted by terrorist groups who consider them to be available instruments for suicide missions (Nnam et al, 2018). These researchers stated that the exploitation of teenaged girls and women is the “consequence of a direct power relationship between Nigerian men, and women in whom men have fundamental and concrete interests in controlling, using and oppressing women with [the] practice of domination as rooted in patriarchy” (Nnam et al, 2018, p. 36). The remaining articles looked at different populations to understand suicide in children, such as American Latina teenagers, rural youth in Australia, and children who were part of the emo subculture.…”

“…Indeed, a cross‐sectional study based on the minority stress theory (Meyer, 2003) and involving 934 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) high school students highlighted “the critical nature of further developing our understanding of the complexities of suicidality” (Hatchel et al, 2019, p. 134). Another group of researchers (Nnam et al, 2018), influenced by a critical theory paradigm (Lincoln & Guba, 2018), stated that suicide in children “means different things to different people, varies from society, changes from time to time, and is influenced by a country's legal dynamics, crime patterns, and trends and security situation” (p. 38). From a constructionist perspective, White and Stoneman (2012) suggested that “youth suicide might be more fruitfully understood as a wicked and unruly (wild) problem that is associated with high levels of instability, uncertainty, unpredictability and complexity” (p. 42).…”

Salience identity of women in terrorism

“…Boko Haram menjadikan perempuan sebagai instrumen kekerasan mereka dengan menjadikan perempuan sebagai pelaku bom bunuh diri. Perempuan dan anak-anak dilibatkan baik secara paksa maupun sukarela sebagai pelaku bom bunuh diri (Nnam et al, 2018).…”

Femmes et conflits en Afrique de l'Ouest

“…Du point de vue des organisations extrémistes, l'appel aux volontaires féminines s'explique tout d'abord par les avantages tactiques que les femmes ont dans certains actes terroristes, comme les attaques-suicides, du fait qu'elles éveillent moins de soupçons que les hommes (Nnam et al, 2018). Les attaques commises par les femmes remettent en cause le stéréotype selon lequel la violence est avant tout masculine et ont de ce fait un impact psychologique plus fort que celles des hommes (Bloom, 2019 La forte augmentation des violences politiques enregistrée depuis une dizaine d'années a conduit à une hausse importante du nombre de victimes civiles, qui sont passées de 300 en 2008 avant le déclenchement de l'insurrection de Boko Haram à 1 453 en 2010 puis à 5 953 en 2014, l'année la plus meurtrière pour les civils ouest-africains jusqu'ici (Graphique 4 Graphique 4).…”