Al-Shabaaab, the Somalia-based terror group, has been largely
portrayed as a male organization in its more-than-decade-long
operational history, but it’s now emerging that women are also at the
center of one of Africa’s deadliest insurgencies.
The group, al-Qaeda’s terror network affiliate in East Africa, is
waging its war from bases in southern Somalia, with the aim of
overthrowing the UN-backed government and replacing it with one governed
through Sharia (Islamic) law. Its violent actions have also been felt
in neighboring Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda.
Since 2006, the militant group has been the subject of African Union
Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) troops’ military operations, but the force
has remained resilient despite the onslaught by the better armed African
militaries.
In al-Shabaab’s campaign of terror, there are women who play key
roles. They are not mere victims, but active players who the group
heavily relies on for non-combative roles. These are indirect roles and
are viewed as more important for the survival of the group than the
female actors moving to the frontlines as combatants (The East African, January 31, 2018).
The profile of women within al-Shabaab and their role has appeared to
rise over the years. Many of them are victims of multiple rapes and
brutal treatment by the militants. Some of the women have escaped from
the battleground to tell their own story and the stories of those still
remaining in al-Shabaab camps.
Female jihadists within al-Shabaab were not considered a key factor
in al-Shabaab until the emergence of British national Samantha
Lewthwaite, also known as the “White Widow,” or Sherafiyah Lewthwaite.
After the Nairobi Westgate Mall shopping terror attack in September
2013, Lewthwaite became one of most wanted terror suspects for her role
in masterminding the assault which killed more than 60 people (Nairobi News, March 25, 2016).
A member of al-Shabaab, Lewthwaite is also believed to have directed
other car and suicide bomb attacks in Somalia and Kenya, including the
Garissa University College attack during which 148 people—mainly
Christian students—were killed (Standard Media, Jan 5, 2016).
Lewthwaite, the widow of Germaine Lindsay, the 7/7 London terrorist
bomber, is wanted in Kenya for being in possession of explosives and
conspiracy to commit a crime. She has been accused of planning and
executing grenade attacks on churches. A grenade attack that hit fans
watching football in a bar in Mombasa during the Euro 2012 soccer
championship was believed to part of her work. The female jihadist’s
whereabouts remain unknown to date, but there is speculation that she is
hiding somewhere in Yemen under the protection of al-Shabaab fighters (Brits in Kenya, December 31, 2018).
Her reputation as an intelligent female jihadist is believed to have
inspired more young women to join al-Shabaab. Initially, it was the less
educated women, but it is now emerging that university students
enrolled in prestigious degrees such as medicine and pharmacy are
targets. These are young, intelligent, beautiful, and deadly women, and
join the militant group as al-Shabaab brides (AWC, August 1, 2015; Garowe Online, January 20).
Over the years, al-Shabaab’s affinity for women recruits has been on
the rise. Kenyan security services highlighted the development after the
DusitD2 shopping complex attack in Nairobi on January 15. Security
agents had also arrested girls and women travelling to join the group in
Somalia in the recent past.
In the DusitD2 attack, two al-Shabaab women are believed to have
worked alongside the mastermind Ali Salim Gichuge and Amniyat,
al-Shabaab’s intelligence wing, to plan and executive the deadly
assault. One of the women, Khadija alias Violet Kemunto was described as
Gichuge’s wife. On her Whatsapp profile, the woman described herself as
an al-Shabaab bride (Daily Nation,
January 17). Days before the attack, she put household properties up
for sale, indicating that they were moving. Part of the properties
included shoes, a 49-inch TV set, a sofa, a rice cooker, and a
refrigerator (The Star, January 18; Pulse Live,
January 17). By the time the police sought to arrest and question her
about her role in the attack, Khadija was already on the run with
reports speculating that she crossed into Somalia and was probably
plotting a further escape (Kenyans, January 24).
Another woman named Mariam Abdi is believed to have trafficked the
weapons used in the DusitD2 attack from Somalia. Abdi, like the Gichuge,
was in Somalia between 2012 and 2016. Security agencies said she was a
link between the attackers and Amniyat. The woman, who hails from
Mombasa, is also said to be on the run (Standard Digital, January 19).
About four years ago, Kenyan security agencies arrested Khadija
Abu-Bakr, then a 19-year-old student who was studying pharmacy at Mount
Kenya University. The young woman had attempted to sneak into Somalia to
join al-Shabaab with other students. Ummul-Kheir studied medicine at
the International University of Africa in Khartoum, while Maryam Said
Aboud studied Commerce at Kenyatta University in Nairobi (Daily Nation, March 3).
Still, the scope of women’s involvement in al-Shabaab remains
unknown, but security experts have advanced various reasons why they
joined the militant group.
Some embarked on the risky journey to join their husbands who moved
to Somalia after being recruited and left their families behind. With no
means of livelihood, the women have taken the risky option of
travelling to the battlefront.
Among several key driving factors, the search for revenge against
Kenyan authorities for ill-treatment of their relatives has been seen as
one of the reasons why the women join the militant group. Recently,
extrajudicial killings blamed on the police have occurred in Kenya’s
coastal region. Also, the police have allegedly been very brutal when
dealing with suspects. Some of the suspects and innocent civilians have
disappeared. These factors, among others, have conspired to push the
women into the jungles of southern Somalia (The East African, January 3, 2018).
Analysts say a number have travelled on their own, believing that
joining the terror group is a form of empowerment, liberation and a
chance to live in a region where the belief system is similar to their
own. In most cases, this has proved to be contrary, as many have been
turned into sex slaves or forced to marry multiple lovers (Daily Nation, January 20).
Kidnapping, deception, blackmailing, and violent force are other
methods that have been used to increase the number of women in
al-Shabaab. Like their male counterparts, they have been lured with the
promise of a better paying job, before being tricked into travelling to
Somalia, where they have ended up in the hands of the militants (The Standard Digital, December 23, 2017).
According to analysts, many of the women who find themselves in
Somalia are trained as suicide bombers or become intelligence gatherers
and spies for al-Shabaab’s intelligence wing, the Amniyat. The roles as
spies are preferred, since in most incidents, women do not easily raise
suspicion (The East African, January 3, 2018).
In the battlefront, women support the fighters by providing shelter
and hiding the terrorists or family members involved in the group. Also,
they are known to provide medical care for injured fighters, while the
majority of others are cooks and provide cleaning services in the camps (Daily Nation, March 3, 2018).
Those who are recruited but fail to travel to Somalia are known to
act as local recruitment agents for the militant group. Four years ago,
the police arrested Hussein Sarah Hassan and five youth she had
recruited. Hassan had allegedly travelled to Somalia several times (Tuko News, 2011, Accessed on March 19).
Some help in planning local attacks, help form terror cells and
channel finances to the terror organization. They are known to take food
to family members in police custody over terror charges. Others
facilitate financial transactions to fund the operations of the group.
Conclusion
It is now emerging that women are starting to play a key role within
al-Shabaab. While they are not known to be on the frontline, they are
supporting the war through other actions such as intelligence and
information gathering, cooking for the fighters and offering medical
care, among other roles.
These core roles are essential to al-Shabaab’s survival. Therefore,
forces trying to end the insurgency should pay more attention to women’s
recruitment both within and outside Somalia, with a view to ending it.
One way that Kenya can help end the recruitment of women is to offer
support to those who have been left behind and rehabilitate those who
are returning after years living in southern Somalia.