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“One of the differences between suicide bombers in Iraq and Palestine is that the Islamists have not been involved much” in recruiting women in Palestine, says Mohammed Hafez, an associate professor of national-security affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., who specializes in Islamic extremist movements and recently wrote a book on suicide bombings in Iraq. “The Islamists have been very involved in Iraq. Also, in general there is a debate in the Islamic world about whether to use women and children, but in Iraq they have no hesitation about using women.”
The rise in the number of suicide bombers who were women in Iraq coincided with the expanding ability of the security forces to defeat bombers who were men. When, in 2006 and 2007, American and Iraqi forces began increasingly to use concrete barriers to insulate government buildings, markets and other gathering places from car bombs, the insurgents turned to women, who could use to advantage their traditional dress: a voluminous, floor-length black abaya, made of folds of flowing fabric. Tribal traditions and Arab notions of modesty make it unthinkable that the police or guards would search women. They could pass through even relatively robust security cordons as if they were invisible. They walked up the steps of government buildings, approached checkpoints and entered the offices and homes of people the militants wanted to assassinate.
Gradually, the police learned to look for telltale signs, Major Hosham told me. Women often wear double abayas to hide their suicide vests. And they apply heavy makeup, because they believe they are going to heaven and want to look their best.
Last September, the Iraqi government completed training for 27 policewomen in Diyala. The effort came too late to save at least 130 people and probably more who have died in the province in suicide bombings carried out by women.
MAJOR HOSHAM WAS right. I liked Baida immediately. She had an open face and pale skin, a medium build and an unassuming manner. She wore a traditional long black abaya whose only ornamental feature was a strip of black satin down the front. Her black veil was simple. A few strands of light brown hair strayed out, suggesting that while conservative she was not rigid. She seemed educated and told her story in a straightforward way. At times during our first meeting I would forget that we were in a cramped, dingy assistant detective’s office with scuffed paint and bars on the windows.
She began in a soft voice: “My name is Baida Abdul Karim al-Shammari, and I am from New Baquba near the general hospital. I am one of eight children; five were killed. The police raided our home. It was a half-hour before dawn during Ramadan. The Americans were with them.”
She added with a touch of pride: “My brothers were mujahideen. They made I.E.D.’s.” The word “mujahideen” means holy fighters and, in the context of Iraq, they are fighters against the infidels, the Americans. I.E.D.’s are improvised explosive devices.