Two Yazidi women who survived sexual enslavement by Islamic State before escaping and becoming “inspirational” advocates for their community in Iraq have won the EU’s prestigious Sakharov human rights prize. Nadia Murad and Lamiya Aji Bashar were abducted with other Yazidi women in August 2014 when their home village of Kocho in Sinjar, northern Iraq, was attacked by Isis jihadis. It was one of the darkest
episodes Iraq has suffered at the hands of the terrorist group. The annual Sakharov prize for freedom of thought, established in 1988, is named after the Soviet physicist and outspoken dissident Andrei Sakharov and is awarded to “individuals who have made an exceptional contribution to the fight for human rights across the globe”.
It has previously been awarded to the likes of Aung San Suu Kyi and Nelson Mandela.
The EU’s prize will again put a spotlight on the plight of Yazidis, some of whom are still held in Isis captivity. Although some have been rescued, the majority of those taken by Isis are still being held, with about 3,600 mostly women and children missing.
Hundreds were thought to be captive in Mosul, but activists and their families fear Isis will transport them to Syria as a broad coalition of anti-Isis forces pushes towards the group’s main Iraqi stronghold.
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