Thread by @lizziedearden

Shamima Begum has the right to return to the UK, the security minister has confirmed

It is unclear whether she could be prosecuted for a criminal or terror offence, or keep custody of her child

independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-n…

Asked whether she should be viewed as a victim of Isis propaganda because she was a child when she joined, Ben Wallace replied: “The consequence of jihadi brides going was to feed the caliphate. They helped support it logistically and give it some credibility.”

And he's bang on there. The tendency to view female Isis members as victims when little nuance is afforded to their male counterparts is sexist, dangerous and frankly, stupid

I explored the issue - through the lens of Bodyguard - here independent.co.uk/arts-entertain…

Female Isis members were crucial to Isis's project, not just by populating the caliphate but by legitimising its pretensions to statehood

Many became key recruiters and radicalised other girls back home by communicating with them online

independent.co.uk/news/world/mid…

In the early days, female Isis members ran Tumblrs and blogs depicting a sort of Islamist utopia and offering followers a false sense of empowerment

Among the most prominent was Scottish member Aqsa Mahmood, known as Umm Layth

independent.co.uk/news/world/eur…

As @EmsWinterbotham told me in 2017: “There’s an implied rationality around male radicalisation and passivity around women … but the decision-making process of these individuals isn’t only about being manipulated and brainwashed – there’s a clear rationale.”

When looking at Begum, it is important to note that she does not reject Isis's ideology and has 'no regrets'

She only criticises the group for its oppression of its own fighters and the strength of her own jihadi views are hinted at by her comments on a severed head in a bin

Begum: "It didn't faze me at all. It was from a captured fighter seized on the battlefield, an enemy of Islam. I thought only of what he would have done to a Muslim woman if he had the chance."

justification for deaths of "enemies of Islam" + victimhood narrative = not good

And age doesn't necessarily make someone less dangerous either. The Parsons Green bomber was a teenager and so were several terror plotters

Youth has proved to be no defence in the courts

independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/…

Whether there will be enough evidence for Begum to be prosecuted remains to be seen

New terror laws include a 'designated area' offence aimed at foreign fighters, but to work wherever Begum is would have to be designated and she would have to remain there voluntarily

To sum up - the debate about how Begum should be treated and the welfare of her child is completely legitimate

But gender and age-based assumptions are reductive. Many Isis members were 'groomed' online, and all of their stories should be considered with nuance deserved

Kurdish officials have demanded that the UK fulfils its “moral and legal duty” to repatriate Shamima Begum and other British Isis members detained in Syria

independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-n…