With a civilian target, female bombers tend to be more successful and cause more damage.

It's cheap, and you have a thinking, breathing bomb that can adjust to circumstances and cross the street to hit another target if the original one doesn't look good.

The issue of motherhood is no longer salient. In fact, the very first female bomber for Hamas posed in her last will and testament video with her two kids.

Acts perpetrated by women, particularly attractive women, get far more media attention.

When I was in Sri Lanka with the [Tamil] Tigers, there were editorials in the paper saying that soldiers really had to stop raping Tamil women at checkpoints because they were just creating more operatives. The [Tigers] were cognizant of this and exploited it: "Don't be a victim, join the movement.

Women are secretaries of state and prime ministers - but people still don't expect women to be involved in violence.

With a civilian target, female bombers tend to be more successful and cause more damage.