Nadia Murad, Human Rights Activist and First Iraqi and Yazidi to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize
Nadia Murad is a Yazidi human rights activist working to help victims of sexual abuse and violence, a passion which came as a result of her captivity by the Islamic State (IS) in 2014.
In 2014, the Islamic State attacked the Yazidi minority community in Iraq killing many including Nadia’s mother, six of her brothers and many of her nieces. The Islamic State took Nadia and other Yazidi women into captivity for several months subjecting them to sexual abuse and violence. She was able to escape and has since been working to support Yazidi survivors and defend the rights of religious and ethnic minorities.
Nadia was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 for her efforts towards ending sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict. She is also a Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking at the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
Nadia Murad is our Woman of the Week because she represents hope for the end of sexual violence and for all women who are victims of sexual violence.
Sources:
Nadia Murad – Facts – 2018. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Media AB 2019.Tue.07 May 2019, https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2018/murad/facts/
Stand Up for Human Rights. Human Rights Champions: Nadia Murad, Tue. 07 May 2019, https://www.standup4humanrights.org/EN/hr-champions-nmurad.html
Financial Times. Nadia Murad: I survived Isis. Now I want to rebuild the Yazidi homeland, Tue. 07 May 2019, https://www.ft.com/content/f28c4184-f823-11e8-af46-2022a0b02a6c
