Women Around the World: Nadia Murad

For this episode, we highlight the life and advocacy of Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hey, this is Danny and Samantha, and welcome to Stephane
Never Told your production of iHeart Radio, and welcome to
another edition of Women Around the World and any I
don't have a question today because it's only a small

(00:27):
snippet of what has been happening around the world, and
I know there's so many things, and we're gonna have
to We're gonna have a lot of discussions, I think
when it comes to world views of things and as
we see things unfolding, especially with things like in Afghanistan,
instill in Syria and still happening in Palestine, I think
there's a lot that we can talk about that's not

(00:47):
typically feminist forward because it's such just overall disasters. But
I'm betting just like in any crisis like these, we
see uh specific narratives about the women and children in
these places, and we actually I know there's been a
lot of conversation with Afghanistan what's happening, especially with the Taliban,
and we know how very misogynistic the Taliban is in general,

(01:10):
and I'm sure we're gonna come back and talk about it,
but I did want to talk about someone and celebrate
someone who has taken what happened in their area, which
was essentially a genocide, and how she is advocating and
fighting for other women who are experiencing things that she
has gone through. And yeah, we're talking about Nobel Peace

(01:30):
Prize winner Nadia Myriad and Nadia Myriad was raised in
Cinjar in Iraq, where she lived with her family, and
her community in her family was mainly farmers in that
area and it wasn't until the invasion or advancing of
the Islamic State or ISIS as we know it in fourteen.
And as a quick reference, uh, the e z v

(01:51):
S are an ethnic and religious group located around northwest Iraq,
northwest Syria, and southeast Turkey and have been persecuted for
quite some time. And there are no exact numbers as
to how many z Ds that are, but inteen it
was estimated to be anywhere from five hundred thousand to
seven hundred thousand people, and I've also seen numbers where

(02:13):
it went up to a million. But because they are
scattered and because they haven't persecuted and have been murdered
and villainized, we don't have an exact number. Right, So, yeah,
Isis invaded Murad's homeland of Sinjar with the intent of
ethnically cleansing you CDs in i Rock. They killed hundreds

(02:33):
of people at that time, including her siblings and connapped
women and young girls, including Murad. It was estimated that
at least six thousand, seven hundred d c D women
and girls had been enslaved by ISIS and she was
held in Mosle where she was abused and tortured. Several
months later, Murad was able to escape to her neighbor's
home after the home she was held captive in was
left unlocked. It was then the neighbors were able to

(02:55):
smuggle her out of the Islamic State controlled area and
were able to get to the refugee camp in Do
Hawk Curtis Stan region. So she was able to move
to Germany in twenty fifteen, where she is a current resident,
which is great and she has been able to dedicate
her life and advocacy for women and people like her.
In December off she spoke to the United Nations Security
Council about the sexual violence human trafficking in regards to

(03:18):
wars and conflicts, and it was the first noted incident
of the fact that this is being addressed to the Council,
so a huge right there, and she has made it
her focus to meet with global leaders in order to
bring attention to the continued persecutions against the Yazdi people
and to bring attention to the horrific systemic use of
sexual violence as a weapon during war. And I know

(03:38):
we've talked about this before and we need to come
back to that once again, but how it continues to
be used as a way of torture during wartime. Yeah,
in sixteen year, Ad was represented by A. Mall Clooney
to take legal action against ISISL or ISIS commanders, and
Cooney said about this at the genocide rape and trafficking
by EISL was a bureaucracy of role on an industrial scale,

(04:02):
and you're a continued by establishing Nadia's Initiative, which provides
advocacy and assistance to victims of genocide and according to
the website Nadia's Initiative, it states Nadia's Initiative is on
a mission to create a world where women are able
to live peacefully and where communities that have experienced trauma
and suffering are supported and redeveloped. Nadia's Initiative advocates at

(04:23):
the local national international levels for resources and policy change
needed to protect and support survivors of sexual violence and
rebuild communities in crisis. We collaborate with global leaders, governments,
and international organizations to raise awareness and direct critical funding
necessary to make positive, meaningful change. Nadia's Initiative works to

(04:44):
end the use of women and girls as weapons of
war to ensure survivors voices are heard. We seek justice
through fighting to hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes and
to enable survivors to heal and rebuild their lives. Nadia's
Initiative also advocates in sure that communities in crisis are
not forgotten by working to restore basic resources, services, and

(05:05):
security in fragile regions. Currently, we are focusing on efforts
on rebuilding Nardia mirads Incestral homeland in Saint Jar, Iraq,
which was systematically destroyed by ISIS in fourteen. Your Ad
was also appointed the first Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity
of Survivors of Human Trafficking of the United Nations in sixteen,
and not surprisingly, she has been celebrated for her continued

(05:27):
hard work by being awarded with so many accolades, including
the Nobel Peace Prize in eighteen, becoming the first She's
CD and Iraqi individual to be awarded the Nobel Prize,
Glamour Women of the Year, International, DVF Award, United Nations,
Association of Spain Peace Prize, and just so many more, right,
and if you're interested in learning more of her story,

(05:48):
she also released a memoir titled The Last Girl, My
Story of Captivity and My Fight against the Islamic State.
And yeah, she also is a writer and has many
pieces that she has written and contributed two different media
and publications, including talking about what's happening with the Yaziti
communities during COVID. And she is a fierce advocate if

(06:09):
you can't tell by the very small snippet that we
are talking about, and continues to fight for women's right
in general, but specifically those who are experiencing so much
trauma during wartimes or because of the war torn areas.
It's obvious that she has a passion and she knows
what she's talking about and why she's so fierce about
what she is doing. Yes, yes, and you know, I

(06:32):
feel like at the end of all of these we
get a book that they've written, and we should You're right,
we really should. Yeah, I don't know why I didn't
think about that before. Yes, it seems obvious, but you
know we are. If you listeners have anyone that you
feel like we should be talking about on this segment,

(06:53):
please send us your suggestions. You can email us at
Stephanie your Mom and Stuff at iHeart media dot com.
You can find us on Twitter at Mom's Toff podcast
or on Instagram and Stuff I Never Told you. Thanks
as always too, are super producer, Christina. We would read
your book if you had one, Christina. Oh yes, oh yes,
and thanks to you for listening. Stuff I Never Told
Youse production by Heart Radio. For more podcasts for my

(07:13):
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