Norwegian ISIL Bride Sentenced for Participation in Terror - Do We See a New Norm?: “How is the ruling within the case of Sumaira Ghafoor contributing to the creation of a new legal norm in Norway where ISIL brides are being regarded as participants and complicit in terror”?

Norwegian ISIL Bride Sentenced for Participation in Terror - Do We See a New Norm?

Small, Sarah

4. term

Development and International Relations, Master

2022

2022-05-31

46

Specialet undersøger, hvordan den norske retssag mod Sumaira Ghafoor bidrager til at skabe en ny juridisk norm: at nogle såkaldte ISIL-brude kan betragtes som deltagere og medskyldige i terror. ISIL rekrutterede aktivt kvinder for at opbygge et fungerende kalifat, ofte med traditionelle kønsroller, hvor kvinder blev giftet bort og forventedes at drive husholdningen og opfostre børn for krigere. Når disse kvinder ønsker at vende hjem, opstår der juridiske spørgsmål om deres ansvar og rettigheder. Sumaira Ghafoor er den første norske kvinde, der er dømt for deltagelse i terror med udgangspunkt i rollen som hustru og mor. Det peger på en ændring i, hvordan begrebet "deltagelse" forstås, og på et skifte i kønsperspektivet i strafforfølgning. Metodisk bygger specialet på juridisk forskning og anvender "framing" (indramning) for at vise, hvordan forhandlinger om regler påvirker normdannelse og den fælles forståelse af, hvad der anses som acceptabel adfærd for en hustru og mor i ISIL-konteksten. Teoretisk bruger specialet Norm Diffusion (Finnemore og Sikkink), som forklarer hvordan normer spreder sig og vinder fodfæste, og Norm Translation (Zwingel), som viser, hvordan normer tilpasses nationalt. Begge tilgange bruges til at vurdere domstolenes indflydelse på normdannelse. Resultaterne viser, at der endnu ikke findes en bindende juridisk norm eller regel, men at domstolene bidrager til normdannelse gennem deres fortolkning af national ret og af, hvad "deltagelse" indebærer i lyset af ISIL-miljøet. Sagen er behandlet ved Oslo tingrett og Borgarting lagmannsrett og forventes senere i år prøvet ved Højesteret. Højesteret kan skabe præcedens, så normen om, at ISIL-brude kan ses som deltagere og medskyldige, kan blive bindende. En central iagttagelse er også et muligt skifte i retsmyndighedernes kønsperspektiv: Når domstolene vurderer, at rollen som hustru og mor kan udgøre medvirken til terror, udfordres et billede af kvinder som primært ofre eller underordnede. Samlet set viser specialet, at domstolene medvirker til normdannelse, og at Norge bevæger sig mod en regel, hvor nogle ISIL-brude kan anses som deltagere i terror. ISIL-konteksten og en kønssensitiv fortolkning af "deltagelse" bruges til at legitimere domfældelser af hustruer, der har støttet og opfostret børn med terrorkrigere.

This thesis examines how the Norwegian case against Sumaira Ghafoor contributes to creating a new legal norm: that some so-called ISIL brides may be regarded as participants and complicit in terrorism. ISIL actively recruited women to help build a working caliphate, often enforcing traditional gender roles in which women were married off, ran households, and raised children for fighters. When these women seek to return home, difficult legal questions arise about their responsibility and rights. Sumaira Ghafoor is the first Norwegian woman convicted of participation in terrorism based on her role as a wife and mother. This signals a shift in how the concept of “participation” is understood and a change in the gender perspective used in prosecution. Methodologically, the thesis follows a legal research approach and uses framing to show how negotiations over rules influence norm creation and shape shared understandings of acceptable behavior for wives and mothers in the ISIL context. The theoretical lens combines Norm Diffusion (Finnemore and Sikkink), which explains how norms spread and gain acceptance, and Norm Translation (Zwingel), which shows how norms are adapted domestically. Both perspectives are used to assess courts’ influence on norm creation. Findings indicate that there is not yet a binding legal norm or rule, but courts are contributing to norm creation through their interpretation of domestic law and of what “participation” entails in light of the ISIL environment. The case has been heard by Oslo District Court and Borgarting Court of Appeals and is expected to be considered by the Supreme Court later this year. The Supreme Court can set precedent, potentially turning the emerging norm—that ISIL brides may be seen as participants and complicit—into a binding rule. A key observation is a possible shift in the gender perspective within judicial agencies: by interpreting the roles of wife and mother as potential complicity in terrorism, courts challenge an understanding of women as primarily victims or subordinate. Overall, the thesis shows that courts are shaping norm creation, and that Norway is moving toward a rule recognizing some ISIL brides as participants in terrorism. The ISIL context and a gender-sensitive interpretation of “participation” are used to legitimize convictions of wives who supported and raised children with terrorist fighters.

[This summary has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]

Sumaira Ghafoor

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