In 2018, she co-founded Nadia’s Initiative—an organization rebuilding Yazidi communities destroyed by ISIS, providing trauma care, education, and legal support for survivors. In October 2018, Nadia received the Nobel Peace Prize at age 25. She was the first Iraqi to receive this honor, and one of the youngest laureates in history.
During her Nobel acceptance speech in Oslo, she didn’t celebrate. Instead, she spoke about the 3,000 Yazidi women and children still missing. ‘I implore you,’ she said, ‘ensure that the only prize I want to see—the liberation of the remaining Yazidis—becomes a reality.’ She was using the world’s most prestigious honor not to mark her survival, but to demand action for those still suffering.
This is what makes Nadia’s story extraordinary. She could have accepted the Nobel Prize and moved into private life. Many would call that healing. Instead, she continues traveling the world, testifying, meeting with leaders, pushing for accountability. She does this knowing every speech means reliving her trauma.
Knowing that describing what happened makes her vulnerable to judgment, to those who will question her story. She does it anyway. Because an estimated 10,000 Yazidis were killed. Because approximately 6,800 women and children were kidnapped. Because mass graves are still being discovered.
Read more on the next page ⬇️⬇️⬇️
