BEYOND STEREOTYPES: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING FEMALE LEADERSHIP IN ASIAN TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS

Abstract

The participation of women in leadership roles within Asian terrorist activities is critically underexplored, often reduced to simplistic binaries of coercion or deviance. This article introduces a novel interdisciplinary framework that integrates trauma theory, social identity theory, feminist security studies, and relational leadership to transcend these stereotypes and enhance understanding of women’s influence in extremist organizations. Utilizing a robust mixed-method qualitative design, the study combines Delphi consensus panels, expert interviews, comparative case studies of four ideologically diverse groups (LTTE, Abu Sayyaf, BRN, Aum Shinrikyo), and discourse analysis of 72 propaganda pieces, to triangulate complex psychosocial dynamics. Findings illuminate six interlinked psychosocial domains—ranging from trauma-based cognitive reframing to strategic gendered instrumentalization—that underpin women's leadership. This research challenges traditional male-centric models of radicalization by emphasizing the relational, emotional, and symbolic aspects of female power. Theoretically, it offers a context-sensitive model of female terrorist leadership, significantly contributing to both gender and security studies. In practice, the study advocates trauma-responsive deradicalization programs, gender-informed risk assessment tools, and culturally specific reintegration and Counter-Violent Extremism (CVE) approaches, underscoring the ineffectiveness of initiatives that overlook women's symbolic and relational authority.