Iraqi woman recounts sex slave ordeal

Cairo: Silence reigned at a Cairo University hall this week when Nadia Murad, an Iraqi woman from the minority Yazidi community, told of her ordeal as a sex slave for three months under the terrorist Daesh for three months.

“When Daesh entered my village, they killed children, the old and young men,” said Murad, a native of the town of Sinjar in northern Iraq, which was overrun by the terrorist militia last year.

“The next day, they killed the old women and led the young girls, including me, to Mosul,” the 21-year-old woman added. Mosul, Iraq’s second city is the Daesh stronghold in the country.

“In Mosul, I saw thousands of Yazidi women where they were distributed to their slave masters. There I saw a huge Daeshi, who wanted to take me. I implored to another man to take me instead when I saw his size was smaller. But he turned out later to be one of the worst people I’ve ever seen.”

Murad recounted to the audience, who included the Egyptian higher education minister and president of the state-run university, further Daesh atrocities.

“The Daesh used to force me and other captives to pray and then rape us. We were not worth the value of animals. They raped girls in groups. They did what a mind could not imagine. In their so-called Sharia [Islamic law] courts, they had our names and phone numbers of our slave masters. They would call us whenever they wanted to spend time with us and sell us.”

Murad said she eventually escaped from her captor. “I am the victim of terrorism disguised under the cloak of Islam,” she said. “All these crimes are committed in the name of Islam.”

Yazidis are followers of an ancient faith regarded by Daesh as infidels deserving death.

“I’ve come to the Muslim world to complain and demand an Arab and Islamic stance against Daesh. No religion accepts enslaving women and raping children. We have the right to demand a united global stance because we share others values of humanity.”

Obviously touched by Murad’s tale, President of Cairo University, Jaber Nassar, pledged that his institution will endeavour to bring her “scream” to the world’s attention.

“We feel ashamed because we have lived until this moment when humans are brutally ravaged,” Nassar, a law professor, said as he fought back his tears. “Your words should trigger an echo around the world. Your tragedy cannot be healed by words, but deeds.”

During her visit to Cairo, Murad met with President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi whose army is engaged in a fierce campaign against Daesh affiliates in Sinai.

“During the meeting, Murad talked to President Al Sissi about the brutal attacks carried out by Daesh against the Yazidis in Iraq,”the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

“For his part, President Al Sissi condemned these attacks, saying none of them is related to Islam and vowing to support the people of Iraq.”

Murad had also a separate meeting with Ahmad Al Tayab, the Grand Shaikh of Al Azhar, which is Egypt’s top Sunni Islamic institution.

Earlier this month, Murad addressed the UN Security Council, pushing for a tougher world alliance against Daesh militants, who are active in Syria, Iraq and Libya.