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Yazidi Women Forced into ’ISIL’ Slavery, Commit Suicide

Yazidi Women Forced into ’ISIL’ Slavery, Commit Suicide
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Hundreds, possibly thousands, of Yazidi women and girls from the age of 12 have been affected by violence from the "ISIL" militants, being sold as slaves or given as gifts, says Amnesty International. This drives some of the victims to suicide.

Yazidi Women Forced into ’ISIL’ Slavery, Commit Suicide
"Hundreds of Yazidi women and girls have had their lives shattered by the horrors of violence and slavery in "ISIL" captivity," said Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International's Senior Crisis Response Advisor.

In August 2014, "ISIL" fighters abducted "hundreds, possibly thousands, of Yazidi men, women and children" from the Sinjar region in northwestern Iraq.
"Younger women and girls, some as young as 12, were ...sold, given as gifts or forced to marry "SIIL" fighters and supporters. Many have been subjected to torture and ill-treatment, including rape and other forms of violence."
Between September and November 2014, the watchdog interviewed 42 Yazidi women and girls who had managed to escape from the "ISIL" extremists.

"Many of those held as slaves are children - girls aged 14, 15 or even younger. "ISIL" fighters are using rape as a weapon in attacks amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity."
The trauma suffered by the women and girls in captivity could drive them to suicide, says Amnesty, drawing the example of Jilan,19, who took her own life while being held captive in Mosul, as she feared she would be raped.

Another "ISIL" victim, Wafa, 27, and her sister tried to kill themselves to escape forced marriage.
"The man who was holding us said that either we marry him and his brother or he would sell us," she told Amnesty.

"At night we tried to strangle ourselves with our scarves. We tied the scarves around our necks and pulled away from each other as hard as we could, until I fainted....I could not speak for several days after that."

"The physical and psychological toll of the horrifying violence these women have endured is catastrophic. Many of them have been tortured and treated as chattel. Even those who have managed to escape remain deeply traumatized," said Rovera.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

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