October 09, 2018

Nadia Murad, fighter against sexual assault in war, wins Nobel Peace Prize

located:	Iraq
editor:	Shira Jeczmien

We are amongst a revolution in the fight against sexual assault, and in this light, the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize has been given to two individuals who are sacrificing their lives to speak up against sexual harassment as a lethal weapon of war. Nadia Murad, 25-year-old Iraqi Yazidi activist, is a victim of sex slavery. Last week, on Oct 5, alongside Dr. Denis Mukwege, she became a Laureate for her advocacy against rape, sex slavery and sexual assault in war and most importantly, for telling the world what her traumatising personal story.

Murad was sold into sex slavery after Isis invaded her hometown of Kocho is Iraq in 2014, killing anyone who refused to convert to Islam, including her mother and six of her brothers. She spent three months in captivity. She was bought and sold several times and was subjected to sexual and physical abuse during her captivity, with one failed attempt to escape which led to her being locked in a room and gang-raped by the Isis militants of the compound in Mosul. In November 2014, with the help of a family that was not associated with Isis, Murad was taken to the border, covered with an abaya and equipped with a fake Islamic ID, where she managed to flee the country.  

Since escaping, Murad migrated to Germany and has become one of the most powerful voices in the fight against sexual assault as a weapon of war as well as an activist for the Yazidi women and girls, most of whom have endured a similar trauma. As Murad explains in her autobiography, ‘The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity and My Fight Against the Islamic State’ published in 2017, “My story, told honestly and matter-of-factly, is the best weapon I have against terrorism, and I plan on using it until those terrorists are put on trial.” And it is with this power Murad holds that she has been internationally recognised for her advocacy, for which she was awarded the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize by the Council of Europe in 2016 and called for an international court to judge crimes committed by IS in her acceptance speech in Strasbourg. That same year, she was also awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the European Parliament.

Over the last four years, Murad has continued to campaign for the approximately 6,700 Yazidi women taken by Isis to be sold in markets or on Facebook, at times for as little as $20. Many of these women are believed to still be in captivity. What this Nobel Peace Prize grants Murad and those fighting to eliminate sexual abuse is the possobility to pressure judges and policymakers around the world to bring to court those who engage in sexual abuse in war zones.

In 2016 Murad, alongside her attorney Amal Clooney, told her story to the UN. In her autobiography she recalls the experience, “I told them that every Yazidi wants Isis prosecuted for genocide, and that it was in their power to help protect vulnerable people all over the world. I told them that I wanted to look the men who raped me in the eye and see them brought to justice. More than anything else,” Murad continues, “I want to be the last girl in the world with a story like mine.” Let us hope that this Nobel Peace Prize will give Murad the tools she needs to continue this battle.

Photo: Nadia's Initiative