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The Rise of Female Radicals in Indonesia

The role of women in Indonesia’s extremist groups is changing. In the past, they have operated mostly on the sidelines, building bridges and helping jihadists to make local connections in new places. W hile Indonesia’s female extremists are not as active as the infamous women of Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers, they are beginning to play more than simple supporting roles. A look at some Facebook pages, including that of Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid, the hard-line group founded by convicted terrorist Abu Bakar Bashir, reveals young women participating in radical and violent discussions. Some say that Indonesian police are thoghut, or apostates, who have turned their back on Islam and deserve to be killed. One young radical girl from West Java boasts about how she has been learning how to make bombs from the Internet. Some are actively seeking out husbands who are willing to conduct a suicide bombing or to “take the head” of a Detachment 88 officer as a dowry. Perhaps the most well-known woman linked to the jihadist movement in Indonesia is Putri Munawaroh, who hid Islamist militant Noordin Mohammad Top in her home in Solo and was subsequently sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. There is also Faridah Abbas, the wife of Bali bomber Mukhlas, who wrote a book called “Mereka Bilang Ayah Teroris” (“They Call My Father a Terrorist”) aimed at inspiring other women to support their husbands’ jihad. Our observations indicate that most of the women who are talking about and participating in violent terrorism are young and are influenced by a growing amount of jihadist propaganda that targets females. Though women also have access to the radical messages through pesantren (Islamic boarding schools), the primary way they are exposed to this ideology — especially those who were not born into ‘radical’ families — is through radical publications with sections that specifically target females. The unit has already faced this problems when they attempted to question the wife of Dulmatin, a man believed to be one of the masterminds behind the 2002 Bali bombings. The woman, Istiada, lived in the all-female Ulil Albab pesantren. With no female field officers, Detachment 88 had no choice but to send in a man. Their cover was blown. The government needs to work with NGOs and social organizations like Nahdlatul Ulama, using their networks to spread values of tolerance and pluralism and build resilience to radical teachings. A national peace curriculum in schools would also go a long way toward reaching young women before they reach an age where they will move into a more family-oriented life and away from the public arena.

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