This doctor is giving life back to female Yazidi victims of Islamic State

The Abduction and Enslavement of Yazidi Women in Sinjar

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.

Shireen recounts that Abu Omar already had two Iraqi wives who lived in a separate house yet used to beat her whenever they got together. For more than two years she was not allowed to leave the house in Mosul. She was forced to cook wash the dishes and clean every day. There were two guards at the entrance of the house and she was not allowed to go outside or even to the garden to breathe fresh air.

According to Shireen Abu Omar later brought two other Yazidi girls to the house. One was six years old and was forced to clean the house while the other was 10. She was raped frequently by Abu Omar. Shireen says she tried to stop him but her pleas fell on deaf ears. In 2016 Shireen was released by Iraqi forces during the campaign to retake Mosul from IS. After more than two years of captivity she suffered from depression and constant nightmares that prevented her from sleeping. Her uncle and many of her friends were killed by IS while her father and one of her sisters have been missing since 2014 after they were also taken.

Voices of Survival and the Weight of Loss

Shireen tells that Abu Omar said he loved her yet when you love someone you do not rape her. It destroyed my life. Upon her release she visited Dr Nagham Nawzat a Yazidi gynaecologist in the city of Duhok in Iraq's Kurdish region for a check-up. Nawzat not only gave her a physical examination but she also listened to Shireen and offered her emotional support. Dr Nawzat helped all of us. Without her help I would not be here today the 23-year-old says. After I came back from captivity Dr Nawzat sat down with me and told me that I was brave. I love her so much.

Shireen's account reflects the raw cruelty experienced by thousands of Yazidi women. Yazidis believe in Yasdan a god who emanates seven angels. The angel they revere above all others is Melek Tawwus or the Peacock Angel yet Shireen was told by IS that Melek Tawwus was the devil and so was forced to convert to Islam. It's too horrible the skeletons of my uncle and my friends are under the ground she states.

Dr Nagham Nawzat and the Provision of Care in Duhok

Nawzat is highly respected among the Yazidi community. According to Hussein al-Qaidi the director of the Kidnapped Affairs department at the Kurdistan Regional Government in Duhok 2,023 Yazidi women have been liberated from IS territories as of July 2018. Nawzat 42 has provided life-saving support to more than half of them helping an estimated 1,200 Yazidi women according to al-Qaidi.

In March 2016 Nawzat received the International Women of Courage Award from then-US Secretary of State John Kerry for providing psychological support to traumatised Yazidi survivors and for combating gender-based violence. Born in Mosul to a Yazidi family in 1976 her life-long dream was to study medicine. Concerned about women's issues from an early age she graduated with a degree in gynaecology from Mosul's Medical College in 2002.

Nawzat states that she wanted to better understand issues related to women's health teach women about health care and provide support for them. In 2014 IS seized almost a third of Iraq. At least 12,000 Yazidis were killed or kidnapped as part of what the United Nations describes as an ongoing genocide against the religious minority.

The Duhok Survivors Centre and Its Specialised Approach

The following year Nawzat decided to join the Duhok Survivors Centre where she volunteers to provide healthcare and psychological support for Iraqi women who survived IS. Funded by the United Nations Population Fund it is the only facility in Iraq that specialises in gender-based violence. The women who survived IS often have horrific stories to share.

Nawzat therefore uses a post-traumatic medical approach commonly found in Iraq. Afterwards she conducts a thorough physical check-up and then listens attentively as her patients talk about their fears and their traumatising experiences. Nawzat offers them support and positive reinforcement like a big sister the survivors can confide in she says. As she creates a relationship with her patients based on mutual trust so they confide in her and reveal their deepest emotions and fears with ease. She is happy to meet her patients again whenever they request psychological support.

Human Rights Implications and Paths to Recovery

The experiences documented through the work at the Duhok Survivors Centre illustrate the systematic nature of violence inflicted upon Yazidi women including repeated sale as sex slaves forced labour and the abduction of children as young as six. These acts occurred alongside the broader campaign that left at least 12,000 Yazidis killed or kidnapped according to United Nations characterisation of the events as an ongoing genocide.

Shireen's return to medical and emotional care under Nawzat underscores the necessity of integrated support that addresses both physical injuries and the lasting effects of captivity such as depression and nightmares. The fact that Nawzat has assisted an estimated 1,200 of the 2,023 women liberated by July 2018 highlights the scale of need and the concentrated role of this single centre in the Kurdish region of Iraq.

Recognition through the International Women of Courage Award in 2016 reflects international acknowledgment of the specialised services provided at the UNFPA-funded facility. Nawzat's background as a Yazidi physician from Mosul who pursued gynaecology to address women's health concerns positions her to deliver care grounded in cultural understanding and trust. Her continued availability for follow-up sessions demonstrates a sustained commitment to the recovery of survivors whose families remain missing or whose relatives lie among the unrecovered dead.