Iraqi Ezidi women receive 2016 Sakharov freedom prize

By Hajer M'tiri

STRASBOURG, France (AA) – Two Ezidi women who survived sexual enslavement by Daesh in Iraq received 2016’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom and Thought in France on Tuesday.

President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz handed the prize to the two women who attended the award ceremony wearing traditional Ezidi dresses.

Daesh captured Nadia Murad Basee Taha and Lamiya Aji Bashar on 3 Aug. 2014 alongside numerous women and children in Kocho village in Iraq’s Sinjar province.

The abductions followed a massacre of all the males and older women in the area.

Schulz praised the pair as "remarkable young women" who had suffered "unspeakable cruelty", adding that the suffering of Ezidis in Iraq must be taken to the International Criminal Court.

"We, the democratic community, sometimes do not extend our hand of protection. That is shameful and intolerable," Schulz added.

Ezidis, a minority group in Iraq, which has suffered numerous attacks because of their religion, have faced persecution by the Daesh terror group, which dubbed them “devil worshipers”.

Aji Bashar said she received the prize on behalf of “every woman and girl who has been sexually enslaved by Daesh. This prize is for everybody around the world who has suffered terrorism".

"Daesh wanted to take our honor, but they lost theirs," Murad said.

The two women were used by Daesh terrorists as sex slaves before they managed to escape; Murad in November 2014 and Aji Bashar in April 2016.

Murad, 23, and Aji Bashar, 19, now live in Germany and have become active in raising awareness of the plight of their community.

Three thousand Ezidi women are still being held captive by Daesh in Iraq, according to the European Parliament.

The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, named after Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, is awarded each year by the European Parliament.

It was set up in 1988 to honor individuals and organizations defending human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Last year, the prize was awarded to jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi. He is still in prison for hosting online posts that were considered blasphemous by Saudi authorities on his website.