Are you ugly? It might be best that you blow yourself up.

Some Women See Escape in Their Martyrdom

TIME MAGAZINE -- MAY 14

Palestinian women who sign on to become suicide bombers often are driven by something other than a desire for vengeance against Israel. For many, terrorism offers an escape from dire circumstances -- the looming punishment for an extramarital affair, for example, or the prospect of an undesired arranged marriage.

"Palestinian women, far more than men, tend to choose self-sacrifice as an exit from personal despair," says Time's Tim McGirk. Since 2002, 88 Palestinian women have attempted suicide bombings; eight have succeeded. Like male suicide bombers, these women often are promised a special place in paradise for their martyrdom.

Many of the women are motivated like their male counterparts by a desire to inflict brutal revenge. In 2003, successful lawyer Hanadi Jaradat killed 21 Israelis and herself after Israeli soldiers raided her home and killed her brother and fiancé, both militants.

But in interviews with survivors, Israeli intelligence agents have identified some major differences between female and male suicide bombers. The women tend to be less introverted, older and better educated than the men. They also commonly receive less preparation and training for their attacks, ranging from days to weeks. That might explain why so many women backed away from pulling the trigger at the last moment. One teenager volunteered for suicide missions after she was forbidden to marry her boyfriend.

Suicide bombing can be a way to make up for social shame. Militants had convinced Wafa Samir al-Bliss that her disfiguring burn scars meant she would never marry and "was better off as a martyr." In the end, her suicide belt failed to detonate.

Palestinians in Gaza say that Reem Riyashi, who carried out a suicide bombing in 2004, had had an affair with a senior Hamas official. When her husband found out, she was reportedly offered suicide bombing as a chance to avoid the death sentence she risked if her affair became public.