The paper provides an easy-to-read overview of women’s roles in terrorism, as perpetrators, as mitigators and as victims (or targets). It also provides brief descriptions of women’s connections with terrorism in four countries (USA, Northern Ireland, Nigeria and Afghanistan) for comparison. The paper then moves on to consider policy implications for the USA. It recommends that the USA address the risks to national security posed by women perpetrators and make moves to increase women’s participation in counterterrorism. Among a range of suggestions, it recommends asset blocking for those groups who have links to sexual and gender based violence, trafficking and abduction of women; it recommends consulting women leaders and women based organizations in the design, preparation and evaluation of counterterrorism and PCVE efforts; the USA should consider specific targeting for women at risk of radicalization; the state department’s annual reports on terrorism should include gender analysis; increase support for the recruitment and retention of women in the security sector and expand the representation of women across the security apparatus; the return, prosecution (where warranted) and rehabilitation of US citizens from Iraq and Syria.
2019