The Home Office’s refusal to disclose the number of women who, like Shamima Begum, have been deprived of their British citizenship after travelling to join Islamic State is under investigation by the information commissioner. The watchdog said it would step in after the government refused to share the data with a human rights group concerned about the conditions of British women and children detained in camps in north-east Syria, where conditions are dire. “We need to know about any risk of discrimination or other patterns of gender-related harm when the government takes people’s British citizenship away,” she added. Estimates suggested that there remain about 15 women with 35 children being held by the Syrian Kurds, with no assistance from the UK. But their exact number and how many have been deprived of their citizenship have not been made public.

Source: The Guardian March 29, 2021 04:52 UTC