Farida Abbas Khalaf grew up in a remote Yazidi village in Northern Iraq. She was just a high school student when the Islamic State ravaged her village, murdering the men—including her father and brother—before taking the women and children as prisoners.
For four months, Ms. Khalaf was held in captivity and abused physically, sexually, and mentally. Eventually, she managed to escape. Today she is an active member of Yazda, a global advocacy campaign aiming to bring ISIS terrorists to justice and raise awareness of the Yazidi Genocide.
Khalaf is the author of The Girl Who Beat ISIS (2016), a book published in over 14 countries. She won the 2017 Marsh Award for peace-making and the 2017 LiberPress Award, and has testified before the Council of Europe.