TAJÊ Urges Recognition and Justice for 19 Burned Ezidi Women

The Diplomatic Committee of the Ezidi Free Women’s Movement (TAJÊ) has issued an urgent appeal to the Iraqi President and key international bodies, calling for the identification of 19 Ezidi women burned alive by ISIS in Mosul in 2016. The movement is also demanding that the atrocity be officially recognized as an act of feminicide. Femicide, or feminicide, is the gender-motivated killing of women and girls, driven by discrimination and unequal power. It is the most extreme form of gender-based violence.

The Fate of the Women Remains Unknown

In letters addressed to United Nations Women’s Representative Sima Bahous, the UN Office in Geneva, Iraqi President Abdullatif Rashid, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and other high-level Iraqi officials, including Dr. Hamid Naeem Al-Ghazi and Diaa Karim Taama, Director General of Missing Persons and Immigration Affairs, TAJÊ emphasized the ongoing silence surrounding the brutal killings.

TAJÊ’s letter recounted the broader context of the 74th decree (Firman) against the Ezidi people, launched by ISIS on August 3, 2014, in Şengal. Thousands were displaced, killed, or enslaved. Ezidi women and children bore the brunt of this genocidal violence: kidnapped, sold, raped, and forced to convert to Islam.

In June 2016, during ramadan, 19 Ezidi women were publicly burned alive in Mosul by ISIS for refusing to renounce their faith, accept forced marriages, or observe religious practices imposed by the extremists. Before their execution in iron cages, the women were paraded through the streets in front of hundreds of civilians. This atrocity was reported and confirmed by at least 10 international and Middle Eastern media outlets, with several eyewitnesses attesting to the crime.

A Deafening Silence

The letter criticizes the lack of action and accountability from the Iraqi government, human rights groups, women’s organizations, and the broader international community. TAJÊ stresses that the massacre remains uninvestigated, and the identities of the 19 women are still unknown nearly a decade later.

“This barbaric act is without precedent,” the letter states. “It revealed the savage and systematic nature of ISIS and exposed a complete disregard for human dignity and conscience. Yet, no legal steps have been taken. Silence continues to surround this crime.”

TAJÊ’s Demands

TAJÊ concluded the letter with clear demands:

• The identities of the 19 murdered Ezidi women must be uncovered and made public.
• A full investigation must be launched.
• The massacre must be officially recognized as an act of feminicide.

“The fight for justice and democracy must continue,” TAJÊ declared, reaffirming its commitment to truth and accountability for the Ezidi people.