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ISIS bride stripped of her British citizenship

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Citizenship - Level 0

Britain took away the citizenship of a woman who joined ISIS. Shamima Begum, 19, left London when she was 15. The U.K. said any ISIS member could not have a U.K. passport. Journalists found her in a Syrian refugee camp. She wants to go home to London with her new-born baby. She said she enjoyed life in the IS.

The U.K. said Begum is a citizen of Bangladesh because her mother was born there. Bangladesh said it will not let her into the country. Bangladesh is angry the U.K. called her Bangladeshi. Begum said she is British. She said: "I wasn't born in Bangladesh, I've never seen Bangladesh." Ms Begum's baby could still be British.

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Citizenship - Level 1

Britain has taken away the citizenship of a woman who joined ISIS. Shamima Begum, 19, left London when she was 15 to live in the Islamic State. The U.K. said any ISIS member could not have a U.K. passport. British journalists found Begum in a Syrian refugee camp. She said she wants to go home to London. She had her third child a few days ago. Her first two babies died. She married an ISIS fighter soon after reaching Syria. She said she enjoyed life in the IS.

International law says the U.K. cannot make anyone stateless. The U.K. said Begum is a citizen of Bangladesh because her mother was born there. Bangladesh said there is "no question" of her being allowed into the country. Bangladesh is angry that the U.K. called her Bangladeshi. Begum said she has "one citizenship". She said: "I wasn't born in Bangladesh, I've never seen Bangladesh." Ms Begum's baby could still be British.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Citizenship - Level 2

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A woman who ran away from the U.K. to join ISIS has had her British citizenship removed. Shamima Begum, 19, left London when she was 15 to live in the Islamic State. The U.K. said that anyone who joined ISIS could not have a British passport. Ms Begum was found in a refugee camp in Syria this week. British TV stations interviewed her. She said she wants to return to London. She gave birth to her third child a few days ago. Her first two babies died from hunger. Shamima married an ISIS fighter several weeks after reaching Syria. She said she enjoyed life in the IS.

International law says the U.K. cannot take away anyone's passport if that person becomes stateless. The U.K. said Begum is a citizen of Bangladesh because her mother was born there. Bangladesh said she is not a Bangladeshi citizen, and there is "no question" of her being allowed into the country. Bangladesh is "deeply concerned" the U.K. has called her Bangladeshi. Begum said she only has "one citizenship". She said: "I wasn't born in Bangladesh, I've never seen Bangladesh...so how can they claim I have Bangladeshi citizenship?" Ms Begum's baby could still be British.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Citizenship - Level 3

A 19-year-old woman who ran away from the U.K. to join ISIS has been stripped of her British citizenship. Shamima Begum left London in 2015 when she was 15 to live in the Islamic State. The U.K. said that anyone who joined ISIS was a terrorist and had no right to a British passport. Ms Begum was found in a refugee camp in Syria earlier this week. British newspapers and TV stations interviewed her. She spoke of her desire to return to her home in London. She gave birth to her third child days after the interviews. Her first two babies died from malnutrition. Shamima got married to an ISIS fighter several weeks after reaching Syria. She said she enjoyed life in the IS as a housewife.

Under international law, the U.K. cannot take away anyone's passport if that person becomes stateless. The U.K. said Ms Begum is a citizen of Bangladesh because her mother was born there. However, Bangladesh's ministry of foreign affairs said Ms Begum is not a Bangladeshi citizen. It said there is "no question" of her being allowed into the country. Bangladesh is "deeply concerned" that the U.K. has called her a Bangladeshi national. Ms Begum said she only has "one citizenship". She said: "I wasn't born in Bangladesh, I've never seen Bangladesh...so how can they claim I have Bangladeshi citizenship?" The U.K. said Ms Begum's baby could still be British.

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25 online activities    |    27-page printable    |    2-page mini-lesson



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