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LEXINGTON, Va., August 2, 2021鈥擳his summer, Alexandra 鈥淎llie鈥� Sassaman 鈥�22 is delving into research for her national security minor thesis, which will focus on the roles of women in terrorism and counter-terrorism and their reasons for involvement.

For Sassaman, who plans to commission into the Marine Corps, the work is part of her professional preparation. 鈥淲hen I am deployed and abroad, I will probably encounter women combatants, and more so in terrorist organizations, so that鈥檚 what struck my initial interest,鈥� she explained.

Not surprisingly, it鈥檚 difficult to find information about female involvement with terrorist organizations, either directly or indirectly, so Sassaman has been researching women鈥檚 participation in conflict over time and across cultures.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a long history [of women in conflict],鈥� said Dr. Vera Heuer, associate professor of international studies, who is mentoring Sassaman鈥檚 work, which is being conducted under the auspices of the Summer Undergraduate Research Institute. 鈥淭hey go back quite a bit.鈥�

Sassaman has determined that women involved with terrorist organizations usually have some family ties. 鈥淭here鈥檚 women who get involved because they鈥檙e a bride, or they get involved because their father or brother is involved,鈥� she noted. 鈥淭here鈥檚 very few that join a terrorist organization on their own accord.鈥�

Initially, Sassaman thought she鈥檇 just focus on women who are involved with terrorist organizations, but then she broadened the scope of her work to include women who work for counter-terrorist organizations, including the military. Those individuals, she鈥檚 found, frequently volunteer for service.

For example, there鈥檚 the Jegertroppen, a Norwegian special forces group that was formed in 2014. It鈥檚 one of the few all-female special forces units in the world, and one that鈥檚 been used to search and communicate with women in Afghanistan.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of cultural sensitivities to that that men can鈥檛 necessarily do, but women can,鈥� said Sassaman.

Also, there are an all-female Kurdish group fighting ISIS and the Afghan Female Tactical Platoon. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e used like the Norwegian group鈥攌ind of like the mediators with the women and the children,鈥� said Sassaman of the Afghan unit.

There鈥檚 an important difference between the two groups鈥攖he Kurdish one is not state sponsored while the Afghan one is鈥攁nd that鈥檚 raised an interesting question.

鈥淚s the recruitment to counter-terrorism different if you鈥檙e basically an expansion of the state, or if you鈥檙e fighting in a loose, local fighter group?鈥� asked Heuer.

That鈥檚 just one of many questions Sassaman鈥檚 research has raised. She describes her summer as one of 鈥渟orting and reading,鈥� and she鈥檚 been digging through a variety of sources to learn more.

鈥淎 lot of it has been scholarly articles from specialists in terrorism,鈥� she stated.

鈥淒ata availability is a problem because we鈥檙e relying on sources put together by other experts and there鈥檚 not that many female interviews,鈥� Heuer added.

But as she sorts and reads, Sassaman is reaping the rewards of learning for learning鈥檚 sake.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot to learn, and it鈥檚 fascinating to read about,鈥� she said. 鈥淎s an officer in the military, this is something you could potentially face, and I think that鈥檚 intriguing.鈥�

Mary Price
Communications & Marketing
VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE