Young Yazidi woman begs UN to wipe out Isis as she reveals horrifying details of life under the group's control
Nadia Murad Basee Taha said: 'Islamic State has made Yazidi women into flesh to be trafficked in'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A young Yazidi woman has called for the United Nations to wipe out Isis after she revealed how she was kidnapped, beaten, sold and held as a sex slave for a three month period.
Nadia Murad Basee Taha, a 21-year-old from the Yazidi minority in northern Iraq, told the 15-member council’s first meeting on human trafficking how Isis used women as "war booty".
“Rape was used to destroy women and girls and to guarantee that these women could never lead a normal life again.” Ms Taha recalled. “Islamic State has made Yazidi women into flesh to be trafficked in.”
The young woman, visibly shaken by the ordeal, described how she was abducted from her Iraqi village and taken by bus to a building in the stronghold of Mosul. All the men in her family were “collectively executed” and for three months, from August 2014, she was held captive by the self-proclaimed Islamic State
She said: “Along the way, they humiliated us. They touched us and violated us…I was absolutely petrified. When I looked up, I saw a huge man. He looked like a monster.
“They took us to Mosul with more than 150 other Yazidi families. In a building, there were thousands of Yazidi families and children who were exchanged as gifts.
“One of these people came up to me. He wanted to take me. I looked down at the floor. I was absolutely petrified. When I looked up, I saw a huge man. He looked like a monster.
She continued: ‘I cried. I cried out, I said “I’m too young and you’re huge”. He hit me. He kicked me and beat me… and a few minutes later, another man came up to me. I still was looking at the floor.
"I saw that he was a little bit smaller. I begged him. I implored him for him to take me. I was incredibly scared of the first man.
“That night he beat me. He asked me to take my clothes off. He put me in a room with the guards and then they proceeded to commit their crime until I fainted.
“I implore you, get rid of Daesh [Isis] completely.”
Ms Taha eventually escaped from Isis is now living in Germany. The members of the UN Security Council applauded her courage for sharing her story.
Late in 2014 Amnesty International released a report, Escape from hell: Torture, sexual slavery in Islamic State captivity in Iraq, which provided an insight into the horrifying abuse suffered by “hundreds and possibly thousands” of Yazidi women and girls at the hands of Isis.
“Hundreds of Yezidi women and girls have had their lives shattered by the horrors of sexual violence and sexual slavery in Isis captivity,” said Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International’s Senior Crisis Response Advisor, who spoke to more than 40 former captives in northern Iraq.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments