Woman and the ISIS: Looking through the Lenses of Farida Khalaf and Nadia Murad
Abstract
Global Gender Gap Report declares the Arab region the lowest to achieve the aim of gender equality. One of the notorious and the deadliest terror groups, causing conflict in MENA region, particularly in Iraq and Syria, is ISIS whose manifesto was published in 2015 for the purpose of serving as a guideline for women where it emphasizes that both men and women have different roles to play under Islam and are hence they can’t be equal. Through their propaganda, ISIS exploits women by objectifying them. The ISIS justifies sexual jihad and enslavement of women of different believes particularly Yazidi women on the grounds of Fatwa. The victims of all these cruelties who could survive depicted their experiences in a number of texts written during 21st century. These texts hold a mirror to the pervert mindset of the men living in ISIS controlled areas. The book The Girl Who Escaped ISIS: This is My Story by Farida Khalaf and The Last Girl: My Story Of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State by Nadia Murad portray the life of victims of violence and their remarkable journey of survival. This article is a study of these aforesaid novels to show their extraordinary courage to fight against all the odds of violence and present before the world their stories of survival which is full of hope, courage and bravery.
