Nadia Murad Basee

Biography

Nadia Murad Basee Taha was born on March 10, 1993, in Kocho, a village in Iraq's Sinjar District. She is part of the Yazidi religious minority, whose members follow an ancient monotheistic faith. Her life took a drastic turn in August 2014 when Islamic State militants targeted the Yazidis, a tragedy later acknowledged by the United Nations as genocide. The militants killed about 3,000 Yazidis, including many of Murad's family, and kidnapped more than 6,000 women and children. Murad was captured and endured sexual slavery for three months before she escaped to a refugee camp in Duhok, northern Iraq. Her harrowing experience drove her to become a global advocate for human rights. Instead of staying silent, she bravely spoke out about the systematic sexual violence by ISIS, despite the cultural stigma and personal danger. In 2015, she shared her experiences and those of other Yazidi women before the UN Security Council, becoming one of the first survivors to highlight the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. Her work led to her 2016 appointment as the first Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. That same year, she started Nadia's Initiative, a non-profit that supports women and children who have survived genocide, mass atrocities, and human trafficking. The organization works to rebuild communities impacted by such violence and presses for justice and accountability. Her efforts were recognized when she received the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize, sharing the honor with Congolese gynecologist Denis Mukwege, making her the first Iraqi and first Yazidi to achieve this distinction.