By: Animesh Roul
Bangladesh’s most lethal home-grown militant organization, Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen People's Republic of Bangladesh (JMB)—which has multiple ideological in addition to operational factions, including the Islamic State (IS)-inspired neo-JMB in addition to al-Qaeda linked inwardness Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (JM)—has gained notoriety over the final few years for recruiting in addition to nurturing a network of women militants. Despite robust counter-terrorism operations next the July 2016 Holey Artisan Bakery attacks inwards the majuscule Dhaka, an alarming expose of women are taking upwards the displace of militancy. The intermittent arrests in addition to events involving JMB’s women operatives across the province in addition to beyond inwards the final duet of years induce got acquire a major headache for Bangladesh’s safety establishment.
Two cases inwards 2018 involving JMB’s woman individual operatives made national in addition to international headlines. In Feb 2018, ii sisters linked to the neo-JMB faction in addition to inspired yesteryear the IS’s jihadist ideals were arrested in addition to charged for carrying out course of instruction knife attacks inwards both Melbourne, Commonwealth of Australia in addition to inwards Dhaka. On Feb 9, Momena Shoma, a Bangladeshi pupil enrolled to study linguistics at La Trobe University stabbed her homestay’s landlord Roger Singaravelu inwards the cervix to fulfil a moral obligation to the Islamic State’s telephone recall for jihad (Sunday Morning Herald, Feb 14; Prothom Alo [Dhaka], September 21). Her sister, Asmaul Husna, carried out a similar knife assault targeting Dhaka Police’s Assistant Commissioner Tohidul Islam on Feb 12 when the local law officials were enquiring virtually the Melbourne incident in addition to possible JMB-IS links (Daily Star, Feb 14). Both sisters were inwards their early on twenties in addition to admitted to their neo-JMB links in addition to IS inspiration during the next investigations.
In Bangladesh, myriad militant extremist groups such equally the JMB, Ansar al-Islam (formerly Ansarullah Bangla Team) in addition to Hizbut Tahirir-Bangladesh (HT-B) induce got been engaging women operatives generally for religious teaching in addition to equally supporting members similar couriers in addition to informants. H5N1 novel tendency has been emerging since mid-2016, where women operatives are found to hold out carrying out tearing combat operations. One media approximate suggested that yesteryear Dec 2016, People's Republic of Bangladesh law had arrested at to the lowest degree xx women militants from dissimilar groups including JMB, amongst testify of a possible all-women suicide squad (The Independent, Dec 25, 2016).
Evidently, JMB is a pioneer inwards engaging women for jihadist activities that include suicide missions inwards add-on to supporting tasks. They fifty-fifty trained the women cadres to utilization mitt grenades in addition to knives. Between July in addition to September 2016, Bangladeshi regime arrested to a greater extent than or less 12 women JMB operatives. [1] In early on September 2016, the detective branch of the People's Republic of Bangladesh law arrested 4 woman individual members of JMB belonging to a suicide grouping from the Kazipur surface area of Sirajganj district. They were arrested inwards the solid of senior JMB leader, Faridul Islam, spell belongings a coming together to hash out the recruitment of novel women cadres to deport out tearing attacks (Poriborton News, September 5, 2016).
After ii months investigating the suicide bombing conspiracy, People's Republic of Bangladesh law encountered an actual woman individual suicide bomber for the commencement time. In slow Dec 2016, Shakira, a woman individual neo-JMB fellow member detonated her suicide vest during a search in addition to sweep functioning inwards a JMB prophylactic solid located inwards the Ashkona surface area of Dhaka spell feigning give upwards (New Nation, Oct 18). The irony is that these ii woman individual operatives had been arrested earlier, inwards mid-2016, nether suspicion of beingness involved inwards militant activities, but were afterwards released equally the investigating means could non constitute their militant links.
Like Khadija in addition to Israt, many others were released from custody before without whatever charges. Later, the law found that several woman individual operatives who had been released were becoming involved inwards these subversive activities. Cases such equally this demonstrate law enforcement agencies’ lenient mental attitude toward woman individual suspects, which is ordinarily exploited yesteryear the JMB.
Interrogations amongst several women operatives suggested that they raise a specific anger against the Bangladeshi safety forces. One of the apprehended militants, Aklima Rahman, confessed to having been trained to target Bangladeshi law in addition to the elite Rapid Action Battalion. During the training, she learned how the safety agencies arrested jihadists in addition to tortured their manly individual counterparts inwards custody in addition to how to avenge those acts.
It is non clear, however, whether the women cadres are pressured into next their husbands, lovers in addition to brothers already waging jihad inwards the province in addition to beyond, or if they are voluntarily attracted to Islamist ideals. While the law versions describe a narrative of coercion in addition to forced recruitment, the Feb 2018 knife attacks involving sibling sisters illustrated a dissimilar pic of private motivation, without textile assistance or moral force from the neo-JMB.
It is equally good found that neo-JMB recruited women from beyond their established household unit of measurement networks. The grouping focused on recruiting those amongst moderate educational background in addition to who belonged to elite schools in addition to universities. For example, the iii woman individual members of the neo-JMB— Aklima Rahman Moni, Khadija Parveen Megna, in addition to Ishrat Jahan—who were arrested on August 15, 2016, were students of Manarat International University inwards Dhaka. Khadija Akhtar in addition to Ishrat Jahan were arrested in ane lawsuit again inwards Oct this twelvemonth from Madhabdi inwards Narsingdi district. Another fellow member arrested to a greater extent than or less the same fourth dimension was Istishna Afroz Oishee, an intern at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Similarly, the sisters involved inwards the knife attacks inwards Feb this twelvemonth are equally good well educated in addition to belong to affluent families of Bangladesh. The primary financier in addition to recruiter of the neo-JMB, Humaira Jakir Nanvi, was an alumnus of the North South University (NSU) in addition to had been educated inwards Malaysia equally good (Daily-Sun, Apr 9).
Unlike the old, inwardness JMB, the neo-JMB faction went a footstep farther inwards recruiting woman individual militants yesteryear romanticizing the concepts of jihad, unusual fighters in addition to martyrdom. The novel moving ridge of recruitment in addition to indoctrination of woman individual militants into the flexure materialized virtually through the utilization of diverse social media platforms such equally Facebook, WhatsApp in addition to other encrypted social media applications similar Threema in addition to Telegram (Daily Star, August 20, 2016).
While the participation of women inwards militant violence inwards the subcontinent (Indian Kashmir in addition to Sri Lanka) is non completely unusual, People's Republic of Bangladesh began witnessing this tendency inwards 2004 when the JMB inwardness established a dedicated women’s branch. This so-called “sister branch”—under the guidance of the wives of the summit leaders of JMB—was generally responsible for daawa activities (proselytization) in addition to religious teachings. Between Feb in addition to Apr 2009, safety officials inwards People's Republic of Bangladesh arrested nearly 25 suspected JMB woman individual militants who were afterwards released from custody without whatever charges. These women arrestees never admitted to beingness a business office of the JMB but were household unit of measurement members in addition to relatives of JMB’s manly individual operatives (Daily Star, Feb 21, 2009; Indian Express, Apr 23, 2009). Bangladeshi agencies, however, admitted that prior to these arrests, they did non induce got whatever testify that JMB had a adult woman fly or trained woman individual members.
Certainly, the traditional women’s roles inwards Islamic militancy inwards the province induce got evolved dangerously over the final few years. Young girls induce got joined the rank in addition to file of jihadist organizations in addition to induce got redefined their purpose inwards groups similar the neo-JMB. With effective woman individual combat units along the lines of al-Qaeda inspired jihadist sisterhood or Islamic State’s “jihadist brides” (or for that affair Al-Khansaa brigade), the increasing tendency of woman individual participation inwards militancy or Islamic jihad inwards People's Republic of Bangladesh is probable to accept a novel plough inwards the coming years.
NOTES
[1] Author’s estimation based on local media reports.
Buat lebih berguna, kongsi:
