Nadia Murad Basee Taha to Speak on the Yazidi Genocide and Sexual Slavery on Friday, September 23

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. — Nadia Murad Basee Taha is a refugee and survivor of the ongoing Yazidi genocide and is a UN Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking. On Friday, September 23, she will speak about her campaign against sexual violence and other war crimes committed by the Islamic State (ISIL) against the Yazidi people. The talk will take place at 10:00 a.m. in Bard Hall and is free and open to the public.

Nadia Murad Basee Taha witnessed the murder of her brothers and fellow Yazidis near Mosul in Iraq. She was captured by ISIL and enslaved, raped, and brutalized. She later escaped and was accepted as a refugee in Germany, one of the few countries that accepted refugees in the face of political pressure.

The use of sexual slavery, and its incorporation in attacks by the Islamic State on the Yazidi population in Iraq, is well documented, as is the sex trade that is ongoing throughout regions they control.

Since her escape, Murad has made it her mission to publicize the genocidal violence suffered by the Yazidis. She has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize and is a UN Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking.

“Nadia is a fierce and tireless advocate for the Yazidi people and victims of human trafficking everywhere.”
                                    —Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations

The talk is sponsored by the Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College, Bard’s Human Rights Project, and Bard Model UN. For more information email arendt@bard.edu.
 

This event was last updated on 09-19-2016

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