Accession Number:

AD1175986

Title:

Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee: Women in Modern Day Insurgencies

Descriptive Note:

[Technical Report, Master's Thesis]

Corporate Author:

MARINE CORPS COMMAND AND STAFF COLL QUANTICO VA

Personal Author(s):

• Opielowski, Tara L.

Report Date:

2015-04-15

Pagination or Media Count:

47

Abstract:

Studying, analyzing, and understanding the tactical, strategic, and psychological use and effectiveness of women in past and current insurgencies will help the U.S. in predicting and countering how women could be utilized in future insurgencies. A review of various conflict zones over the past few decades in places such as Algeria, Colombia, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Sierra Leone, Russia, Afghanistan, and Iraq, reveals that women play a robust and strategically significant role in modern insurgencies. Additionally, the roles that women have held in insurgencies since the end of the Cold War have expanded, and morphed, presenting new challenges to security operations. Still, there is little more than cursory information regarding the impact of women in insurgencies in most Western military literature, and, to this day, proves to be a topic rarely addressed by Western security experts. A thorough study of the capabilities, trends, and uses of women in modern day insurgencies will help in understanding the grievances and root causes for an insurgency, will better prepare our troops to deal with the complex reality of todays battlefield, and will allow policy makers and military planners to more effectively influence future COIN strategies.

Descriptors:

• terrorism
• ethnic groups
• military science
• asymmetric warfare
• societies
• man borne improvised explosive devices
• warfare
• urban areas
• minority groups
• united states
• violence
• air force
• department of defense
• human population
• terrorists
• civil war
• doctrine

Subject Categories:

• Military Operations, Strategy and Tactics

Distribution Statement:

[A, Approved For Public Release]