Watch | Data Point: What happens to Islamic State-affiliated women when they want to return?

A video looking at the laws, and numbers behind who joined ISIS, and who wants to return home

The case of Shamima Begum, the 15-year-old who left East London for Syria, to join the Islamic State terrorist group, put the spotlight back on people who joined terror groups, but want to leave.

In a 2019 interview, shortly after the fall of ISIS, Ms. Begum told a British journalist that she wanted to come back, but did not regret joining the group. This lack of remorse shocked British officials, and led them to revoke her citizenship.

Over the years, countries have increasingly been adopting laws that allow for citizenship deprivation over disloyalty to one’s nation, which includes joining terror groups. However, men are disproportionately able to return to their countries of origin, compared to women.

In this video, we look at the laws, and numbers behind who joined ISIS, and who wants out.

Script, presentation and production: Sonikka Loganathan

Ideation and data support: Sonikka Loganathan and Vignesh Radhakrishnan