Ex-ISIS Girl Tries To Be A Fashion Influencer After Serving 6 Years In Jail

A British woman who was convicted of voluntarily joining the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2014 appears to be attempting to become a fashion influencer as she begins a new chapter in her life following her six-year prison sentence.

Tareena Shakil — one of the world's best-known ISIS brides — has been sharing via Instagram fashion inspiration posts, outfit ideas, and a carousel of photos and videos of her adventures across the globe since being released from jail, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Shakil, now 34, caused a stir in the media nine years ago when she left the U.K. and traveled to Syria along with her then-14-month-old son to join the militant Islamist group. However, she soon became unhappy and left Syria for Turkey after three months.

She was arrested upon returning to her home country. At the time, Shakil claimed that she did not go to Syria to join ISIS or marry a fighter, but evidence presented by British prosecutors showed that she accessed a blog written by a Scottish ISIS bride, who detailed how single women arriving in the country would be arranged to marry jihadis.

It was also revealed that Shakil lived with a group of women waiting to be married to ISIS fighters during her three-month stay in the country.

Shakil was sentenced to six years in prison for joining ISIS and encouraging others to commit terrorist acts via social media.

Since her release in 2019, she has sat down for televised interviews about her controversial ISIS journey and a viral photo in which she posed next to an AK-47 assault rifle.

In 2021, she began posting on Instagram under the moniker "That Girl Tam Tam," and since then, Shakil has shared her travels to Spain, Albania, Morocco and Italy with her followers.

In most of her posts, she included hashtags such as "fashion blogger," "fashion style," "fashionista," "fashiongram" and many others.

But though the ex-convict seemed to be branding herself as an influencer, she denied intending to become one in an Instagram Story posted last week.

"I never came here to be an influencer. I came to show you there is a light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how dark it may seem," Shakil wrote in the post.

She continued, "You don't need me to tell you how to do your makeup, there are thousands of other girls who do that. But you do need someone to show you that no matter how bad things get when you feel like giving up, you will make it through, [and] you will be okay. That's a promise."

Shakil also starred in her own documentary, "Tareena: Return from ISIS," which was released in 2021 on BBC Select. The TV special focused on how and why she joined ISIS and how she eventually escaped.