Tareena Shakil, the first British woman convicted of travelling to Syria to join the Islamic State (IS), has undergone a striking transformation since her departure from a conflict zone over a decade ago. Now 36, Shakil has built a significant following on TikTok, where she shares content on relationships and religion, distancing herself from her past and expressing a commitment to reinvention.

Shakil’s journey to Syria began in 2014 when, at age 24, she left the United Kingdom with her infant son under the belief that she was undertaking a religious migration, or hijrah, to live under what she was told was true Islamic law. Raised in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, by young parents of English and Pakistani heritage, she described her childhood as loving but chaotic. Before her radicalization, she was a university student studying psychology and maintained a largely secular lifestyle despite being raised Muslim.

Her radicalization reportedly began after marrying a man nine years her senior, a relationship that quickly became isolating and difficult. During her husband’s absence abroad in 2014, Shakil reactivated a Facebook account he had earlier forced her to delete and made contact online with individuals who persuaded her to join IS. She later characterized this process as grooming, emphasizing her vulnerability and naivety at the time, and denied that her decision was motivated by terrorism.

Shakil flew to Turkey in October 2014, ostensibly for a holiday, before crossing into Syria near the border with her son. She stayed in Raqqa, IS’s de facto capital, under harsh conditions with other women, many of whom concealed their true origins. Despite images sent during her time there showing her armed and declaring "This is my jihad," Shakil has explained these were produced under coercion and fear, with strict monitoring and the real threat of death if caught fleeing or defying IS rules.

After enduring intense airstrikes and growing disillusionment, Shakil managed a perilous escape involving a bus journey through numerous checkpoints and a final sprint across the border to Turkey. She and her son were detained in Turkey for six weeks before being returned to the UK in early 2015, where she was arrested upon arrival at Heathrow Airport.

Her trial in early 2016 concluded with a conviction on charges of joining IS and encouraging terrorism through messages sent while in Syria. Prosecutors presented her as an enthusiastic supporter of the group, while the defense argued she was a vulnerable mother manipulated by recruiters. Shakil received a six-year sentence, of which she served three years before release on licence in 2016.

Since her release, Shakil has engaged in therapy and domestic abuse counseling and worked with religious advisors to separate her faith from extremist ideology. Although initially restricted in her movements and contact with her son, she has since reestablished a relationship with him. Today, she lives a markedly different life and aims to pursue a career as a social media influencer, reflecting on her past with a sense of remorse and a focus on personal growth.