A Black Widow () or Shahidka (—Russian feminine gender derivation from shahid) is a Chechen female suicide bomber with Islamist motives. They became known at the Moscow theater hostage crisis of October 2002. The commander Shamil Basayev referred to the shahidkas as a part of force of his suicide bombers called the Riyad-us Saliheen Brigade of Martyrs. The Black Widows are associated with terrorist attacks in Chechnya between 1999 and 2005.

The term "Black Widows" probably originates from these women being widows of men killed by the Russian forces in Chechnya (the connotation of black widow spider is intended). The Black Widows wear black dresses and dark clothing that covers their bodies from head to toe. the phrase was used again after the Beslan attack, as the title of an installment of the Russian NTV programme Top Secret ().

Background

The women took part in hostage taking; women were needed because amongst Islamists it was culturally unacceptable for men to be with female hostages.

To terrorists, Black Widows are considered less valuable than male terrorists, since male terrorists require formal training, while women terrorists are viewed as expendable. In some cases, when opinions do not match between Black Widows and male terrorists, male terrorists detonate bombs strapped onto Black Widows to get rid of them. Additionally, women terrorists are strategically appealing because they symbolize opposing their traditional roles of being obedient, also women terrorists arouse less suspicion, which terrorists groups are able to take advantages of. Between 1998 and 2001, according to professor Richard Pape of University of Chicago, the average number of deaths caused by a suicide attack is 13 people, while the average deaths caused by suicide attacks from Black Widows is 28, meaning they are twice as deadly as the average suicide bomber.

There are currently forty-seven Chechen Female bombers that have been confirmed based on twenty five successful bombings. These attacks methods include detonating bombs on trucks, cars, usage of explosive devices, or using suicide belts or bags. who takes part in the Foreign Policy Research Institute's Center for the Study of Terrorism, there is a strong relationship between becoming a Black Widow and having personal connections to terror networks. that many of the women who have been sold by their parents are used as shahidkas, while others have been kidnapped or tricked. She also claims that many have been prepared to be suicide bombers through narcotics and rape. Several were pregnant at the time. On the other hand, independent journalists including Robert W. Kurz and Charles K. Bartles reject this view, stating that in most cases female Chechen suicide bombers do not fit this model.

Additionally, some Black Widows have brothers or close relatives who were killed in one of the two Chechen wars between Russia and Islamist rebels since 1994 or in clashes with Russian-backed forces. They may feel that terrorism is a strategy when there is no peaceful outlet to affect politics or that it is the only option for people with extremist views. During the attack, some female suicide bombers reportedly told hostages how their family members had been killed in the war and they felt they had nothing left, thus, they were motivated by family connections. This also suggests that Black Widows may be driven by ideals about religion or may be out of touch with reality, and brainwashed by the men in their lives to join the cause. She is the cousin of the well-known field commander warlord Arbi Barayev and sister of Movsar Barayev, head of the moscow commando. She and Luisa Magomadova were the first to attack and became known as the “Black Widows”. In the video, Khava Barayeva claimed she was attacking for Chechen independence and tried to spread the message to others to do the same. Of the 41 terrorists in the attack on the Dubrovka theater 19 were female. The terrorists held around 800 people hostage at the theater for 3 days, until Russian forces regained control of the building.

  • In December 2003, a male and female suicide bomber killed 46 people and injured 100 others by detonating explosives on a packed commuter train, which had just left Yessentuki in Southern Russia. The woman is believed to have carried explosives in a bag, whereas the man had grenades strapped to his leg.
  • On 9 December 2003, a bomb exploded outside the Hotel National, Moscow just a few hundred metres from the Moscow Kremlin. It is thought that the target was the State Duma building and that the bomb had detonated prematurely. Six people died and 13 were injured in the blast. The suicide bomber was later identified as Khadishat Mangeriyeva.
  • On 6 February 2004, Georgi Trofimov, a Russian bomb disposal officer, was killed as he tried to defuse a device at a Moscow cafe. The failed bomber, ethnic Ingush Zarema Muzhakhoyeva, was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment for terrorism in April 2004. In 2005, she participated in the trial of the Beslan hostage crisis terrorist Nur-Pashi Kulayev as a witness for the prosecution, but she withdrew all her statements about Kulayev that she made in pre-trial depositions and said she didn't know he was a militant.
  • Two Russian passenger aircraft disasters in 2004 are believed to have been the work of the Black Widows. The smaller of the planes, a TU-134 which crashed near Tula, had been carrying a Chechen woman called Amanat Nagayeva who had bought her ticket just an hour before the flight took off. The larger plane exploded near the city of Rostov killing 46 people. Among the wreckage, investigators found traces of hexogen, a powerful explosive. Another Chechen woman, Satsita Djerbikhanova, was also a last-minute passenger on this flight. Because of this holiday, there were many children including parents in a school in Beslan, North Ossetia. The explosions were the result of the female suicide bombers. On the second day, Russia's president, Vladimir Putin made the public statement that, what is most important is the life of the hostages. On the last day of the siege, two bombs detonated killing many hostages instantly, however, some of the hostages took this chance to flee.
  • On 29 March 2010, nearly 40 people were killed and another 100 injured when two suicide bombers detonated explosives at two stations of the Moscow subway, the Park Kultury metro station and at the Lubyanka station.
  • On 24 January 2011, 35 were killed and 180 wounded in Domodedovo, Russia's busiest airport. Although the identity of those responsible for carrying out the attacks has not been officially confirmed, initial reports suggested that at least one Black Widow was involved, likely accompanied by a man.
  • On 7 March 2012, a widow of a militant killed on 10–11 February 2012 near a village, Karabudakhkent, 40 km (24 miles) south of Dagestan capital Makhachkala, killed herself and five police officers and wounded two others in Karabudakhkent.
  • On 28 August 2012, Sufi leader Said Afandi and six other people were killed in a suicide bomb attack in Dagestan. The attack was allegedly perpetrated by Russian Aminat Kurbanova who had converted to Islam. Her two former spouses were Islamic militants, and her third husband also believed to be a militant.
  • On 25 May 2013, a female suicide bomber, Madina Alieva, blew herself up in Dagestan, injuring at least 18. She was the widow of an Islamist killed in 2009.
  • On 21 October 2013, a female suicide bomber, Naida Asiyalova, blew up a Volgograd bus, killing six of the forty passengers.
  • On 29 December 2013, a female suicide bomber killed 16 people at a train station in Volgograd.

See also

  • Shaheeda

References

  • Yuzik, Yulia, "Невесты Аллаха. Лица и судьбы всех женщин-шахидок, взорвавшихся в России" 2003, Ультра Культура;
  • Zur Hochzeit mit Allah (German language excerpt), zeit.de (2004)