"Reparation for Yazidi women survivors" Behar Ali | HagueTalks

FIVE YEARS ON: HOW ARE WOMEN IN THE YAZIDI COMMUNITY REBUILDING AFTER IS? It’s been five years since the Yazidi community of Iraq was attacked by Islamic State (IS). On August 3, we will commemorate the attack with a special event at Humanity House where two brave women will share their personal stories about how they have been fighting for a better life for Yazidi women. IS fighters attacked the Yazidi community in Iraq leaving many men murdered, and thousands of women and children kidnapped, sold and abused. Five years later, the IS terror in Iraq has still left deep scars on the community. Many of the women who escaped from the IS fighters, or were liberated, still live in tented camps in northern Iraq. These camps were designed to be only temporary, but are still occupied. There is a shortage of everything, and temperatures range from 50 degrees in the summer to well below zero in the winter. During these HagueTalks we will commemorate the attack on the Yazidi community by considering the current plight of Yazidi women in Iraq. We will hear personal stories from three very brave women: Layla, Kazheen and Behar. Layla was held prisoner by IS for three years. She wrote a book about her experiences, entitled Layla and the Night of Pain, to attract the attention of the international community. Through her organization EMMA, Behar offers psychosocial assistance to women who are victims of IS. Yazidis who live in the Netherlands will share their culture through food and music. In addition, the Hivos exhibition ‘Dare to Dream: Five years after the attack on the Yezidi community’, can be seen. ABOUT THE SPEAKER Yazidi women survivors of sexual violence from ISIS are living in a terrible situation in the camps. They are all traumatized and they don't have access to good education, heath services and even daily basic needs. There are many children born out of rape and they are not accepted by the society, this means mothers can not keep their children. The Iraqi government should take responsibility for reparations for the Yazidi women survivors of sexual violence Behar Ali is a woman with a mission. As a young woman in the late 1980s in Iraq, she experienced the notorious poison gas attack on Halabja. When Saddam Hussein started another campaign against the Kurds in the mid-1990s, Behar fled to the Netherlands where she specialized in women’s rights. After the fall of Saddam, she returned to northern Iraq to help rebuild her country. Behar is co-founder of EMMA, an organization that offers psychosocial support to victims of Islamic extremists. ‘Women whose entire families have been killed by IS seek help from EMMA. There is so much suffering; many of them have endured the unimaginable,’ says Behar. Video credits: maaki.nl & melashvilli.nl HAGUE TALKS is a meeting place for creative minds, peace inventors and game changers in the field of peace and justice. For more info visit www.haguetalks.com Twitter -   / haguetalks   YouTube -    / haguetalks   Facebook -   / haguetalks   Instagram -   / haguetalks