After last week\u2019s deadly San Bernadino shooting, some news reports called the involvement of alleged shooter Tashfeen Malik, a Pakistani-born woman, a rare event.<\/p>\n
However, female terrorists in the United States are relatively common, said Lori Poloni-Staudinger<\/strong>, associate professor and chair of NAU\u2019s Department of Politics and International Affairs.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile it is difficult to know the proportion of women terrorists in the U.S., it is believed that the largest percentage are in right-wing extremist groups and make up about one third of those groups,\u201d said Poloni-Staudinger, who conducts research<\/a>\u00a0on the topic.<\/p>\n More common in North America are female extremists who may be part of the Ku Klux Klan and pro-life individuals who use violence to express their politics. The FBI also identifies left-wing groups including the Animal Liberation and the Environmental Liberation Fronts as terrorist organizations, whose ranks include many women,\u00a0Poloni-Staudinger added.<\/p>\n She acknowledges that a female terrorist in the United States\u00a0who self identifies with an Islamic Jihadist group appears to be rare, although she thinks there are other women with a similar affinity who have not engaged in terrorist acts.<\/p>\n After last week\u2019s killing of 14 people at a holiday party in San Bernadino, Malik and her husband, Syed Farook, were killed during a shootout with police. Authorities searched their home and found an arsenal of ammunition and evidence of affiliation with the Islamic State.<\/p>\n Poloni-Staudinger closely observed\u00a0the media\u2019s portrayal of the events, another subject she focuses on in her research.<\/p>\n \u201cThe way in which Malik was portrayed is that she was a wife who was caught up in this cycle of violence inflicted by her husband,\u201d Poloni-Staudinger said. The idea that she was coerced or may have been radicalized by her husband is part of the media narrative in a society that thinks of women as peaceful caregivers, a story that may not be accurate, she added.<\/p>\n Malik emigrated in 2014 and married Farook, who was born in Illinois. It is unknown how long the two may have been radicalized or who may have influenced whom.<\/p>\n While it may clash with our stereotypical view of women and mothers, said Poloni-Staudinger, evidence shows that female terrorists are somewhat common.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"