Carrying the Stories of Others
Students, faculty, and community members lined the walls of the Heights Room to hear Nadia Murad share her story. 鈥淭hese conversations are more important now than ever,鈥� Murad said. 鈥淭he past year has seen so much conflict, so much pain, from Ukraine to Sudan, [Democratic Republic of the Congo], and all over the Middle East. Our fragile world is in such a precarious state.鈥�
Murad, recipient of the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize, activist, sexual violence survivor, and United Nations (U.N.) Goodwill Ambassador, was 21 when ISIS attacked her village of Kojo in northern Iraq, killing and capturing thousands of Yazidis, a religious minority group in the Middle East. ISIS killed Murad鈥檚 mother and brothers. Murad remained a captive of ISIS for three months, during which she and thousands of other young girls were forced into sexual slavery. She escaped to Germany in 2014.
Murad said that while going public exposed her to the consequences of speaking out against rape, she felt an obligation to do so nonetheless. 鈥淎fter sharing my story publicly, I learned that rape and sexual violence go hand in hand with stigma, silence, and social exclusion,鈥� Murad said. 鈥淏ut I knew I had a responsibility to fight for Yazidi women and girls, like my nieces, who had not been lucky enough to escape and could not yet speak out for themselves.鈥澛犅�
Murad said she began advocating for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence after learning the stories of women across the world with experiences similar to her own. 鈥淭en years ago, I did not have a plan鈥擨 do not think any activist does,鈥� Murad said. 鈥淚 did not know about the U.N. and how it worked. I had never left my small village, let alone Iraq. But once I had my story and grasped its connection to the stories of so many others, I knew silence was not an option for me.鈥�
According to Murad, activism is a lifetime effort鈥攁nd one without reliable allies. 鈥淚鈥檝e also learned that even big organizations and powerful politicians who support you will not always enact the ideas you put in front of them, no matter how compelling you think they might be,鈥� Murad said. 鈥淎nd when that happens, you have to keep advocating over and over again until the actions of one become the actions of many.鈥澛�
Murad also said there is a lack of action by governments in prosecuting and holding members of ISIS accountable. Despite victim testimonies and evidence of crimes, only three ISIS members have been charged, she said. 鈥淲e have evidence of, you know, everything that we need,鈥� Murad said. 鈥淏ut what is missing is political will.鈥� Iraq, in particular, has not done enough to support the Yazidis and help rescue the thousands of young women and girls still living in captivity, according to Murad. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 care about people leaving,鈥� Murad said. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e not done anything to rescue the missing women and girls; they鈥檝e done nothing to hold those responsible accountable,鈥� she said.
Murad also said that ISIS and other terrorist groups use sexual violence as a weapon of war. 鈥淭hey want to leave a permanent mark on the communities they attack,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat is not only mass murder or the destruction of their homeland, but it is through the use of sexual violence. So sexual violence is not a side effect of war鈥攊t is a weapon of war.鈥澛�
Murad said she created the organization聽Nadia鈥檚 Initiative聽to help establish a community in Iraq for Yazidi women and children. According to Murad, countries should do more to help refugees rebuild their lives in their home countries. 鈥淲hen the war is over, and when it鈥檚 better for people to go back, why not invest in that? Why not help people rebuild their lives more sustainably?鈥� Murad said.聽聽
Although 10 years have passed since the Yazidi genocide, Murad said the Yazidi community is still reeling. 鈥淭he community is still healing and recovering from this genocide,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that this generation that went through it will fully recover from what they have witnessed.鈥澛�
Murad ultimately encouraged audience members to carry the stories of themselves and others with them when advocating for the voiceless. 鈥淜now your story, carry with you the stories of others, no matter how difficult, and find people ready to listen,鈥� Murad said. And remember that when you speak out, you don鈥檛 do this for you, your people alone. It鈥檚 for those who are not ready or able to do so themselves.鈥澛�
Adapted from by Annika Engelbrecht '27