World has failed to help terror victims: Murad

sharjah — The international community has failed to protect minorities, women and children from the violence of terror groups like Daesh, Nobel Peace Prize winner and human rights activist Nadia Murad has said.

Speaking to Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the Investing in the Future conference in Sharjah, Murad said the global community is yet to take “any serious action” against terrorists who have “raped women, murdered innocent children and committed genocides”.

Murad — who detailed her horrific experiences as a Daesh captive in her memoir The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State — urged world leaders to take urgent steps to help rebuild villages destroyed by Daesh, especially the Iraqi province of Sinjar, from where she hails. She also sought justice for the Yazidi ethnic minority group. “Despite the fact that my village has been liberated, more than 300 women and men enslaved by Daesh are waiting to be rescued,” she said.

Murad became the first Iraqi to win the Nobel prize for her efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.

“As a Daesh captive, I cannot overcome the trauma I went through. However, when I realised that several women are still held captive by the terror group, I decided to be their voice,” said Murad who founded the Nadia’s Initiative that has been helping women and children heal from the grim atrocities they have suffered.

She said that most women in her village had been taken as sexual slaves but they remained silent, fearing social judgement in their conservative community. “I will be the voice of all women who were exposed to all kinds of violence by terrorist groups not only in the Arab world but the whole world.”

Telling her story

In her address at the opening session of the two-day conference, Murad told the audience how the Nobel Prize came with a great responsibility. It was her first public engagement after her historic win.

“I not only share this award with my co-recipient Dr Mukwege, but I also share it with the Yazidi community, Iraqis, Kurds, and all persecuted minorities and victims of sexual violence around the world,” she said.

As a Nobel Peace Prize winner, she vowed to not just represent the forgotten victims of persecution and sexual violence but also to restore peace and prosperity for the future generations.

In her speech, she recounted how Daesh brutally murdered people across her village and abducted innocent women and children.

“On August 3, 2014, the world endured yet another genocide. In the early hours, Daesh attacked my village and many other villages to begin a campaign of ethnic cleansing. Some were murdered immediately and others were taken prisoner and endured unspeakable acts of violence

“Countless victims were lost, many are still unaccounted for and 3,000 women and children remain in captivity. Like many minority groups, the Yazidis, have carried the weight of historical persecution,” Murad said.

She called on goverments, organisations, the youth and the world to come together and help all the victims of war and violence get their lives back.

I will be the voice of all women who were exposed to all kinds of violence by terrorist groups not only in the Arab world but whole world.”

Nadia Murad, Nobel Peace Prize winner