Shamima Begum is a British-born woman who gained global attention after leaving the UK as a teenager in 2015 to join the Islamic State (ISIS) group in Syria.
Born in 2000 in London to Bangladeshi parents, Begum was 15 years old when she and two school friends — Amira Abase and Kadiza Sultana — traveled from Bethnal Green Academy to Syria via Turkey. There, she married an ISIS fighter from the Netherlands, earning the nickname “ISIS bride.”
During her time under ISIS rule, Begum reportedly lived in Raqqa and had three children, all of whom died in infancy due to poor conditions.
In 2019, she was found in a refugee camp by British journalists after the fall of ISIS territory. Her return to the UK sparked intense debate over national security, citizenship, and human rights.
The UK government revoked her citizenship in 2019, arguing she posed a security threat. Begum has since been living in the al-Roj detention camp in northern Syria, appealing the decision through the courts.
In 2024, the UK Supreme Court upheld the government’s decision to strip her citizenship, ruling that she could not return to the UK to fight her case in person.
Her story continues to raise difficult questions about radicalization, justice, and the treatment of citizens who joined extremist groups abroad.
