She Escaped ISIS. Then Lost Her Son.

How does someone go from escaping an abusive relationship to joining an extremist organization just six weeks later?

In this episode of The Shadow Sessions, Hiba Balfaqih speaks with Tareena, the first British woman convicted of joining ISIS. After growing up around domestic violence and later experiencing abuse in her own marriage, Tareena left her husband and entered a women’s refuge. During a period of isolation and upheaval, she was approached online and recruited.

This conversation looks beyond the headline to examine what made that recruitment possible. Hiba and Tareena explore how abuse, isolation, identity disruption, and the need for belonging can create vulnerabilities that extremist recruiters exploit—and how ideology can become intertwined with the promise of purpose, community, and a new identity.

Tareena also reflects on becoming disillusioned, leaving ISIS, returning to Britain, and serving a prison sentence. From the distance of today, she examines what she believed then, what she understands differently now, and the warning signs she could not recognize at the time.

This episode isn’t about excusing extremism. It’s about understanding radicalization well enough to recognize how it happens—and how people can ultimately disengage from it.