“I can still calculate what my body was worth to those who bought and sold it”
About the Genocide
In August 2014, the world witnessed genocide. Over the course of two weeks, the Sinjar region of Iraq was invaded by the so-called Islamic State (ISIS). ISIS militants undertook a strategized campaign to ethnically cleanse Yazidis from existence.
Approximately 400,000 Yazidis fled to the neighboring Kurdistan Region of Iraq and tens of thousands took refuge on Mount Sinjar, where they faced near starvation. The rest, unable to flee, were killed or taken into captivity and subjected to horrific acts of violence – enslavement, forced labor, conscription, torture, and rape.
ISIS considered Yazidis “infidels” and ordered men to either convert or die. Women, on the other hand, were given no choice. They were taken captive, married off to the highest bidder, sexually enslaved, and forced to convert.
More than 6,000 women and children were taken captive by ISIS and nearly 2,800 are still missing today. Sexual violence was strategically used as a weapon of war and codified in ISIS manuals that explained how to traffic Yazidi women. ISIS believed that violating women would destroy the community from within.
Who Are the Yazidis
The Yazidis are a small minority indigenous to Mesopotamia who are united by their ethnic and religious identity. As an ancient monotheistic religion, Yazidism shares elements with other Middle Eastern traditions but is set apart by its prayer rituals, a belief in reincarnation, and the central role of the Peacock Angel, Tawusi Malek, who is worshiped as messenger to the Yazidi god. It is because of these unique tenets of their faith that Yazidis have been persecuted for centuries. Yazidi history recounts seventy-three instances of genocide - the latest which was conducted by ISIS. The constant threat of persecution led many Yazidis to settle in the northern region of Iraq (namely Sinjar), where the mountainous terrain provides some protection.
"ISIS captured us when we were trying to reach Sinjar Mountain. At the beginning, they only separated my father from us in Sinjar. They did not take me from my mother because I was only 14 at that time. Then, they took us from Sinjar to Til-Afar. Life was so bad there. We did not have enough food [or] good shelter. After 8 months, they separated us from each other. They sold me more than 10 times to different people.”
– Badyra
400,000+
YAZIDIS DISPLACED
6,000+
WOMEN & CHILDREN ENSLAVED
5,000+
MEN & OLDER WOMEN KILLED
Tactics of Genocide
ISIS’ persecution of Yazidis was so comprehensive, it is as if they used the criteria for genocide as a guideline for how to destroy the community:
1. Murdering men and older women en masse and filling over 80 mass graves throughout Sinjar.
2. Abducting women and children, enslaving girls and brainwashing boys into joining the ranks of the terrorist group.
3. Torturing captives with sexual and physical violence, causing irreversible trauma.
4. Raping women to ensure that children born to Yazidi women would be considered Muslim, not Yazidi, under Iraq’s patrilineal nationality law.
5. Destroying property, schools, hospitals, and homes; burning farms; disabling electrical networks; and polluting water sources, so Yazidis would not be able to survive in Sinjar.
Ongoing Hardships
The consequences of genocide have endured long after ISIS’ occupation of Sinjar. Genocide is not a singular event. It is a process of marginalization, violence, and resource deprivation. ISIS knew this; for they did not stop at destroying Yazidi lives. They also systematically dismantled agricultural lands and basic resources to prevent the community from ever returning home. While ISIS' military occupation was defeated by an international coalition in 2019, their genocide against Yazidis has yet to be stopped.
"I was only ten years old at that time. They took me with other kids to a kindergarten. There, they taught us the Quran. Once, they gave us poison. We thought we died. We spent two weeks in the hospital. Finally, they made a lottery in the kindergarten. There were three things, which were marriage, death, and serving an ISIS family. Each kid got a different paper. Based on that, some were killed. Some were given to their fighters as wives. Others were chosen to be servants in their houses. I was chosen to be a servant.I served a house for two years."
– Samar
Living in Limbo
Seven years after ISIS’ atrocities, the Yazidi genocide is no longer front-page news. Yet, the humanitarian crisis persists. Hundreds of thousands of Yazidis remain in cramped displacement camps, while those who have returned home lack electricity, clean water, healthcare, education, and livelihood opportunities.
Improvements to Sinjar’s local governance and security are prevented by political disputes between the Iraqi Federal and Kurdistan Regional governments. Although both claim sovereignty over the land, neither is willing to take responsibility for Sinjar’s reconstruction. In the vacuum of good governance, foreign-backed militias are gaining influence and destabilizing the region. Once again, the Yazidi community is paying the price.
Missing But Not Forgotten
Of the 6,000 women and children taken into ISIS captivity, 2,800 are still missing. For them, the violence of genocide is not a memory, but a daily reality. The world has listened in horror to the accounts of survivors like Nadia Murad, but there have been no coordinated efforts to rescue those still missing and in captivity.
Thousands of survivors are mourning their relatives whose remains lie in unmarked and mass graves. Only a handful of graves have been exhumed. For families hoping to return home to Sinjar, living among mass graves is unthinkable. The inability to identify and honorably bury loved ones magnifies the community's loss.
200,000
STILL DISPLACED
IN NORTHERN IRAQ
2,800
WOMEN & CHILDREN
STILL MISSING
150,000
RETURNEES TO SINJAR
STRUGGLING TO REBUILD
“Despite everything we were subjected to in captivity, our life is still difficult in Sinjar. Since being liberated, many of us live in homes that are not ours because ISIS blew up our homes, burned and looted our property, and stole our money.”
– Survivor
Justice Delayed
Survivors have put themselves at great personal risk to retell accounts of genocide and share experiences of sexual violence. They have defied taboos and faced stigma in the hopes that authorities would hold their abusers accountable. Shamefully, the international community has not fulfilled its responsibility to prosecute perpetrators. No international body or Iraqi court has tried ISIS members for sexual violence or genocide.
Persevering in the Face of Persecution
Despite ongoing hardships, the Yazidi community is working together to rebuild their homeland, restart their lives, and advocate for accountability. They are eager to participate in Sinjar’s local governance and security. Yazidis know that stabilizing the region is the best way to prevent future persecution and create a more peaceful world for their children. We are here to help them achieve these goals.
