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Terrorism knows no boundaries, class, race, age or gender. Anyone can be a potential terrorist. Such is the complex nature of the crime of terrorism.

According to American Criminologist, Larry Siegel; Terrorism is derived from a Latin word “terrere”, which means to frighten or fear.

So much has been done at an international level to counter terrorism; including the so-called ‘War on Terror’, especially after 9/11. Osama Bin Laden was captured and buried at sea.

There are so many terrorist groups. Al- Qaeda, Isil and the Taliban are some among many. The US and its allies have been fighting a seemingly unending war against these groups.

In Africa there is the Somali based Al-Shaabab, the Nigerian based Boko Haram and sub-groups of Al-Qaeda and ISIS.

There was shocking disbelief when pictures of Zimbabwean born British citizen, Raymond Matimba infamously trended on mainstream news and online social media in military combat gear as an Isil sniper.

Currently Shamima Begum, an ISIL Bride of Terror. She escaped to Syria at age 15 years and now 19, she is being held at AL-HAWL Refugee facility, Syria together with her newborn baby. The British revoked her citizenship because both her parents are originally from Bangladesh.

One of the ways used to recruit younger people by terrorist organisations is through the use of the internet. They have created online platforms where they portray their organisations as fun and worth joining. They use propaganda and brainwashed kids having fun.

ISIS even promise the prospective members a ‘Disney lives’ lifestyle with good homes and husbands. The case of three American teenage girls who were intercepted at a Frankfurt airport, Germany comes to mind. These teenage girls were recruited online and they were even sharing their information on their twitter handles.

Most young people worship the internet. Most young people’s minds can be easily convinced or manipulated. Most young people are adventurous. Where you think they are using the internet for educational research or social networking purposes they end up crossing virtual boundaries in the literal sense of the word. They end up interacting with cybercriminals. These faceless criminals include terrorist organisations. They are then promised heaven on earth and everything will be arranged secretly including travel arrangements.

How safe are young women from the tentacles of these terrorist organisations?

The ones at stable homes or boarding schools may have some form of monitoring. Those at tertiary or higher education learning institutions are a risk group. They are semi-independent. Without a strong moral conviction, what will stop them from crossing to the side of the bad guys? They become a potential national security threat.

National security organisations come into the picture. They must be in a position to have intelligence and red flag these vulnerable young women before they skip the country. It is primarily the duty of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) and other Intelligence divisions of other National Security organisations have a role to play as well.

Research organisations such as the South African based Institute of Security Studies (ISS) and academic researchers play a role as well. The purpose of research findings is to provide solutions to contemporary crimes such as terrorism.

The concept of Integrated Border Management Systems will also help all stakeholders involved to be in a position to share any intelligence information. These are issues of National Security because preventing our young women from joining these terror groups as Brides of Terror will curb the formation of terror cells forming locally. Fortunately, for Zimbabwe, there haven’t been any reported cases of our young female citizens having joined terrorist organisations as Brides of Terror. So, for now, our young women are safe.