Yezidi Women's Services

Remember Yezidis on International Women's Day

A Yezidi women in an IDP camp after fleeing ISIS attack against the Yezidis in Sinjar

FYF statement for International Women’s Day 2018

Today, on March 8th, we celebrate International Women’s Day. For many women and girls around the world, this is a day of hope, inspiration, and solidarity.
 
For the Yezidi community, international women’s day is another opportunity to draw attention to 3000 missing women and children, still in the hands of ISIS or in unknown locations, forgotten by the international community but forever in the hearts of the Yezidi people.
 
For the thousands of women and girls who managed to escape, daily life is a struggle and haunting memories persist. Our psychologist, working with women and girls in an IDP camp, explains, “It has been three years since ISIS attacked the Yezidis, and they live in displacement, which has its own stress. This diminishes their ability to move on, as individuals and as a community. I do believe that justice would help the community move forward.” She continues, “I have heard of so many suicides, it is shocking. The trauma that members of the community have experienced remains a very serious matter.”
 
The burden of daily livelihood and combatting depression falls very hard on men, women, and children alike in the IDP camps. This is why FYF pays particular attention to the psychological well being of survivors, working to prevent women and girls from re-traumatization or exploitation.
 
The Free Yezidi Foundation supports all efforts in 2018 to draw attention to the rights, needs, and empowerment of women and girls across the world. Special attention should be given to women and girls experiencing or overcoming the most acute suffering, including Yezidi women and others who have experienced sexual violence.

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On this day we thank Women for Women International / UK for the continuous support to the Free Yezidi Foundation's women's center. With the help of WfWI, we have been able to educate and serve hundreds of women and girls. We also would like to thank the whole team at the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, for supporting our trauma program, for the benefit of Yezidi women and girls.

The Free Yezidi Foundation is competing in Global Giving's Girl Fund campaign. We are now ranked #23 out of 164 projects. If we can move up to the top four spots, our project could be funded for an entire year! This competition is for the number of unique donors. So we are seeking as many individual donors as possible. Please consider contributing $10 or more by March 14th by clicking here. We are grateful for any assistance you can provide.

To our generous friends and individual supporters, thank you for standing with our women and girls. We are grateful to you for your support!

Sincerely,

- Pari Ibrahim
Executive Director
Free Yezidi Foundation