Last
month, an Indonesian woman linked to the Islamic State (IS) militant
group was
killed when she allegedly tried to attack police officials in Jakarta.
The
incident has again raised fears that IS-linked extremist groups in Indonesia are increasingly recruiting women for operational roles.
This marks a major shift in the
strategy of Indonesia’s militant groups as they previously did not encourage women to engage in violence.
However, research shows that
female militants bring strategic benefits for militant groups and that to
counter this threat successfully, Indonesia needs to recruit more women for counterterrorism
positions.
Female militants are Indonesia’s next security