Voices of Survival: The Yazidi Doctor Healing Wounds of Genocide

The Day Everything Changed

DUHOK, Iraq - Shireen was studying for a high school examination at her home in the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar on 3 August 2014, when Islamic State group militants broke into her house and kidnapped her from her family. At the age of 19, she was sold as a sex slave to an IS militant in the north-western city of Tal Afar. Three months later, Shireen was sold once again to Abu Omar, another IS fighter in Mosul, to become his third wife.

Enduring the Brutality of Captivity

"He said 'I love you,' but when you love someone, you don't rape her. It destroyed my life," Shireen tells Middle East Eye. "Abu Omar already had two Iraqi wives." Although Abu Omar's other wives lived in a separate house, Shireen says that they used to beat her whenever they got together. Yazidis believe in Yasdan, a god who emanates seven angels. The angel they revere above all others is Melek Tawwus or the Peacock Angel - but Shireen was told by IS that Melek Tawwus was the devil and so was forced to convert to Islam.

A Doctor's Mission of Healing

But there is a woman trying to heal these wounds. Nagham Nawzat, a Yazidi doctor from Sinjar who was forced to flee her home when IS took control of the region in August 2014, has dedicated her life to helping the women and girls who were kidnapped and enslaved by the militant group. Despite threats against her own life, Nawzat has provided essential support to more than 1,000 women who have survived IS captivity. Nawzat, who is also a human rights activist, has been documenting the testimonies of survivors, providing medical and psychological support, and advocating for their recognition as victims of genocide.

Reaching Survivors Across Displaced Communities

Her work has taken her to refugee camps and communities across the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, where many Yazidis have sought shelter. In 2016, the French government awarded Nawzat the French Republic's Human Rights Prize for her work with Yazidi women survivors. The same year, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Nawzat's clinic in Duhok provides not only medical care but also a safe space where survivors can share their stories without judgment. She has trained a network of female community health workers to reach survivors in remote areas.

The Enduring Scars and Search for Justice

The stories she has collected are harrowing. Women and girls as young as nine were separated from their families, subjected to systematic sexual violence, forced marriages, and religious conversion. Many were sold multiple times between different IS fighters. Some managed to escape, but others remain missing. For those who have escaped, the trauma does not end with freedom. Many struggle with severe psychological scars, social stigma, and rejection by their communities. Some women have given birth to children fathered by their captors, facing impossible choices about how to raise them in a community that may not accept them.

Standing Against Erasure

The United Nations has documented the systematic targeting of Yazidis by IS as genocide. In 2016, the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria concluded that IS "committed genocide against the Yazidis." Despite this international recognition, justice remains elusive for most survivors. IS fighters who committed these atrocities have rarely been held accountable. Nawzat continues her work despite the dangers. "Every woman I help is a victory against IS," she has said. "They wanted to destroy us, but we are still here."