Nadia Muran – the young woman who has been honored with the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize, which has been jointly awarded to her along with Denis Mukwege – for their tireless efforts to end rape and sexual torture as a tool of intimidation during war and terrorism.
Murad – who was a former sex slave to ISIS and managed to not only survive the ordeal but to tell the tale, has since been helping the rights of marginalized religious sections and yield support for other groups tormented by ISIS, becoming a global champion of women and sexual assault survivors.
From ISIS Slave To Nobel Laureate..!!!#Revival ✌#NadiaMurad ❤ pic.twitter.com/xWb1ChZUUI
— ഗുൽമോഹർ☭ (@asifparkour91) October 6, 2018
Born as an Iraqi Yazidi – Nadia was taken away from her family at the age of only 20, when ISIS took over some parts of Iraq back in 2014. Moved away from her mother and brothers – who were then massacred, Murad recalled how it felt to board the bus along with other female captives being taken away from her family.
In her book The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State, she details the ordeal.
“It felt like fire. I had never been touched like that before. My tears fell on his hand, but still he didn’t stop.”
Murad was later auctioned and sold in a slave market, eventually held as a captive in a judge’s house.
I have no words to say how happy I am for #NadiaMurad
She horrendously suffered under ISIS hands, escaped & found the inner strength to find for others.
She truly deserves the #NobelPeacePrize2018 #YazidiGenocide pic.twitter.com/05etuD7HpD— Yalda_So ♀= ♂ (@Yalda_so) October 5, 2018
She was beaten, raped and used every day – and when she tried to escape and was caught in the act, she was yet again gang-raped by several of the guards as her ‘punishment.’
The terrorists would force her to keep her eyes open as they would sexually violate her day after day and if she dare close them during the act, she would get beaten yet again.
Days of rape and torture passed, with everyday bringing something worse than before, as she only waited for death to arrive.
But the day came when her captors left the house open and she finally managed to flee with the help of a nearby family who took her out of the ISIS territory. Finding shelter in a refugee camp in norther Iraq, she later went to Germany with the help of an organization assisting the survivors.
I met Nadia Murad just the day after she managed to escape from #Mosul. I told her we can film the interview anonymously but she refused, “No let the world see what happened to us” she said … She is now a noble peace prize winner. #Yazidi #Izadi #NadiaMurad pic.twitter.com/QMcvrH6UZB
— Nafiseh Kohnavard (@nafisehkBBC) October 5, 2018
From there began her journey to become a spokesperson for the rights of Yazidi victims and the marginalized social groups, left at the mercy of terrorist organizations.
Transforming herself into an activist for her people, Nadira started campaigning against sex slavery and human trafficking, which later led her to be awarded the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize by the Council of Europe in 2016.
And now she’s a Nobel prize winner for not only transforming herself into a survivor and a symbol of strength, but also working towards the rights of other tormented Yazidis like herself.
BREAKING NEWS:
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2018 to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict. #NobelPrize #NobelPeacePrize pic.twitter.com/LaICSbQXWM— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 5, 2018
Nadia’s story is not just an inspiration that can teach everyone to keep fighting for a better day, but it also serves as an example in how one can start healing within by helping others, going through the same ordeal, heal first.