‘The world is severely out of balance, thanks to the
historic oppression of feminine power.’ —Jade Hameister
in 2014, my life changed forever
when ISIS invaded my home region of
Sinjar and began ethnically cleansing
Iraq of all Yezidis. They killed approxi
mately 5,000 of us and took over 6,400,
mostly women and children, into cap
tivity, many as sexual slaves.
After I escaped captivity, I knew I
must fight to end the genocide against
the Yezidis. I began to tell the world
about what happened to my people
and to advocate for female survivors
of sexual violence globally. Five years
later, I am disheartened by the lack
of progress. Hundreds of thousands
of Yezidis remain displaced, ISIS
perpetrators have not been publicly tried
for their crimes, and over 3,000 of our
women and children are still missing.
If the global community cannot unite
to aid survivors of sexual slavery and
terrorism in Iraq, what does it say aboutBefore turning 16, I skied to the North
Pole, crossed the Greenland ice cap and
became one of the few women in history to
set a new route to the South Pole from the
coast of Antarctica. Traveling 1,300 km on
ice confirmed for me that global warming is
an undeniable truth, but I desperately want
to be optimistic. The long-term fix is avail-
able: ensure young women globally are
encouraged to be more rather than less.
The world is severely out of balance,
thanks to the historic suppression of
feminine power. For too long, women were
merely childbearers and men’s property,
while the male ego dominated. In many
cultures that remains the case today.
Gender balance will only be restored when
young women globally have access to
education, programs and resources to
grow in the directions of their dreams. I’m
JADE HAMEISTER
Empower women to save the earthNADIA MURAD
Help us stamp out genocideour ability to create change globally?
While survivors like me can bring
public awareness to issues affecting
communities in crisis, for there to be
tangible change the international com
munity must act swiftly. My organiza
tion, Nadia’s Initiative, works to leave a
safer, more just world for future genera
tions. However, we cannot do it on our
own. States need to recognize the Yezidi
genocide and hold perpetrators of mass
atrocities like ISIS publicly accountable
in court, sending a clear global message.
International leaders have the power
to influence change and shift conversa
tions about global crises. I ask them to
work with survivors to prevent mass
atrocities from happening. Together,
let’s make “Never again” a reality.Murad, 27, is an Iraqi Yezidi 2018 Nobel
Peace Prize laureatelucky enough to be one of the relatively
privileged ones, but every young
woman, including the 130 million girls
around the world not attending school,
deserves the opportunity to take charge
of their lives.
It staggers me that no one is focused
on the exponential growth in the human
population as the biggest threat to our
environment. It seems to be taboo for
our leaders to talk about. The most
sensible way to address our exploding
population is by educating and
empowering young women, ensuring
they make their own decisions over
how many children they have and when.
Only through your actions today will this
dream be possible.Hameister, 18, is an Australian explorer