Rape as a weapon of war: Sexual violence against Yazidi women

Rape – a form of violence that keeps the entire affected social community on tenterhooks – is probably the most cruel weapon of war known to mankind. The perpetrators are aware of the devastating effects of violence against women, and a ruthless opponent will systematically use rape as a weapon of war. During the Bosnian war in the 1990s, for example, up to 30,000 Muslim girls and women were raped by Serb gunmen. The according pictures and reports are etched in our minds. Currently, there are similar reports from the Middle East, where barbaric fighters of the self-proclaimed “Islamic State” (IS) are holding Yazidi women captive since August 2014. They suffer from humiliation, torture, enslavement, and rape.

By Melav Bari

Wars are mostly fought “man to man” – meaning that women are usually not involved in wars for power or territory. If, however, women are drawn into the “men’s business”, this is seen as a provocation by the opposing side, similar to the red cloth in a bullfight. This form of violence is a breach of all rules, it is utterly unfair – if one may speak of “fair” or “unfair” in this context at all.

It is especially ruthless if a man avoids to confront another man, but instead tries to look for weaker opponents: women, children, the elderly, and the infirm. Usually, a “classic” war – a siege war or a war between two or more regional powers – has clearly defined objectives, such as the elimination of the enemy. For example, the Second World War ended when the Nazi regime was defeated and had to surrender. But what if a war is not between ethnic groups, but a war of religions? Or a war in which those who are willing to fight turn against those who are not? Can wars like this end if one of the opponents surrenders, or is the ultimate goal to wipe out a religious community?

In the war in Iraq, it is especially the Yazidi daughters, wives, and mothers who suffer. There are almost one million Yazidis – a religious minority that ethnically belongs to the Kurds – living all over the world. Despite the fact that many of them live in the diaspora, about 50 percent of the Yazidis were still living in northern Iraq, on the Nineveh Plain near the Sinjar Mountains. During the night of August 3, 2014, the Islamic State started a surprise attack against Yazidis in their villages in northern Iraq. They kidnapped women and children and executed their husbands, fathers, and brothers in front of their eyes. The United Nations has published preliminary figures regarding the massacre of the Yazidis, which is considered a genocide crime. At least 5,000 Yazidis lost their lives; up to 7,000 were abducted, and about 430,000 people from the Sinjar region are on the run.

After their abduction, the female villagers were divided into three groups: women with children, married women, and virgins. The groups were brought to different locations. Almost every family has female members that are in the hands of IS – and they mostly don’t even know where they are held captive. Day after day, night after night, the Yazidi women are raped by the murderers of their families – beaten bloody by their enemies, impregnated by those who destroyed their identity. They are treated as slaves – forced to serve sexually or otherwise – and are still being sold to rich people and slave traders in Saudi Arabia or Syria, for example. The price to be paid for the women depends on their appearance, their age, or other factors that might be of interest for the buyer. Some of them are not for sale, but are kept for the terrorists themselves. The IS-fighters even swap Yazidi women as “gifts” for achievements on behalf of the “Islamic State”.