The monstering of Shamima Begum

Every few months for the past seven years, Shamima Begum has reappeared in the British public eye, and every few months, the same discussion about what she represents has ensued. 

Begum left the UK for Syria in 2015, aged just 15-years-old, with her sister's passport to join the Islamic State (IS) group. The press and public remained puzzled by how a young woman who was academically bright decided to join a group like IS. 

Fast forward four years later and Begum reappears on our screens. This time, she’s 19-years-old, detained in a detention camp, clad in a black abaya and heavily pregnant. 

But despite her condition and having lost two children, she was still subjected to a line of questioning by the likes of the BBC and Sky News, which lawyers representing Begum said broke, “basic principles of media…in a frantic rush to publish lurid details from inside the caliphate.” 

"Since Britain revoked her passport, one question has remained on the minds of Britain’s Bangladeshi community and other groups eligible for a passport in other countries: if it could happen to her, could it happen to me too?"

And while the Kurdish-Syrian Democratic Forces gave free rein to journalists wanting to speak with her, Begum’s lawyers had not gotten the chance to liaise with their client. 

Indeed, journalists broke the news to Begum that her British citizenship had been revoked by handing her a copy of the letter written by then Home Secretary Sajid Javid. The justification was that she was automatically eligible for Bangladeshi citizenship up until the age of 21 through her parents.

Shortly after losing her British citizenship, she lost her newborn baby due to malnourishment.

Begum has never been to Bangladesh or had any meaningful connection to the country. Since Britain revoked her passport, one question has remained on the minds of Britain’s Bangladeshi community and other groups eligible for a passport in other countries: if it could happen to her, could it happen to me too? 

Indeed, it’s a question Begum's lawyers have been asking in Britain’s courts as they fight for her citizenship. 

This time, she is back in the courts, with her lawyers saying she was a victim of human trafficking after reports emerged that a Canadian intelligence asset helped smuggle her into Syria. 

But will it make a difference? 

Her lawyers have relied on this new information that, besides being a minor, she was trafficked and received assistance. This argument has become crucial for her case, as attempt to assert her right to citizenship based on her identity and upbringing have fallen flat. 

The British public’s lack of empathy and aversion towards her, especially given that she was still a minor at the time she left, is disturbing. The primordial feud between the ‘civilised’ (read: the West) and the ‘uncivilised’ (read: the Muslim) has been projected onto Begum’s case.

"The Muslim - regardless of age, context, or remorse - cannot be afforded the possibility of redemption, and this is where the monstering of Begum has been the most successful"

It has bolstered problematic notion that Muslims exist outside of modernity no matter how much they are acculturated and socialised into "our societies". 

Begum, in a sense, crystallises the finite boundaries of Britishness. By extension, Britishness then becomes a corrective measure to contain the unruly Muslim and remind them of their place, transforming citizenship into a passage of fleeting temporality for Muslims rather than a right. And more significantly, Begum regulates the image-making of Britain.

Within this framework of Britishness, journalist Gary Younge's witness statement for Begum's latest case was poignant. He shares how:

"The apparent dislocation between race and place, between the colour of my skin and the crest on my passport, challenged me for most of my adolescence. My Britishness felt entirely contingent – a fragile connection to a place that did not want me, did not know what to do with me and where many people actively imagined the country without me." 

Younge recognises the schism for racial and ethnic minorities and how the uncertainty around belonging persists. Muslims are politicised and discussions are had about them, but Muslims themselves are not allowed to be political.

The Muslim - regardless of age, context, or remorse - cannot be afforded the possibility of redemption, and this is where the monstering of Begum has been the most successful. 

With her lawyers and advocates now interrogating her trafficking, her case characterises how much work has to be done to humanise the Muslim. Expert witness statements for her current case were provided by trauma, psychosocial, and human trafficking experts. 

While the judge and others contend with all the new information made available on this trial, we know it is now only a matter of months before she appears on our screens again. Her sporadic appearances present the power asymmetries and how easy it is to monster a Muslim woman. 

"In the national imagination, Begum has become a frightening monster rather than a victim of child trafficking"

Begum’s plight stirs up emotions for marginalised communities, making clear the ease with which the British public will accept the state creeping into the lives of racially minoritised people and having a parallel system in place for them. In the national imagination, Begum has become a frightening monster rather than a victim of child trafficking. 

Do I think the new evidence of human trafficking will help her appeal case? I remain cautiously hopeful while also pessimistic. The media trial of her has been brutal, and I believe much of the coverage informed how the government treated her, but I do not want to get ahead of myself.

Whatever happens with Begum’s case, this will be another significant moment in the War on Terror discourse where Muslims will remain on the very peripheries of Britain - a group so easy to strike off and abandon in a detention camp in north Syria.

Dr Fatima Rajina is a sociologist based at the Stephen Lawrence Research Centre at De Montfort University. Her work looks at British Muslim communities with a specific focus on the British Bangladeshi Muslim communities.

Follow her on Twitter: @DrFrajina 

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Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The New Arab, its editorial board or staff.