ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has begun distributing monthly salaries to more than 2,300 Kurdish Yazidi women and girls who survived atrocities committed by the Islamic State (ISIS), as part of a national compensation effort for survivors.
Speaking to Rudaw on Thursday, Sarab Elias, director of Yazidi Survivors Affairs at the ministry, said that the “support is provided under Law No. 8, enacted by the Iraqi parliament in March 2021. The legislation guarantees compensation for all individuals who survived ISIS captivity. Each eligible survivor will be receiving a monthly stipend of 800,000 Iraqi dinars (around $565).
“This is a critical step in delivering justice and support to the Yazidi community after years of unimaginable suffering,” Elias stated.
Importantly, the law extends to Yazidi women and girls regardless of where they currently reside. So far, 150 applications have been submitted from abroad, with 120 cases already interviewed.
In mid-December, Iraqi authorities began conducting remote video conference interviews with Yazidi survivors living overseas. These interviews are held weekly, typically every Thursday, and are conducted by Iraqi judges connecting virtually from within the country.
The majority of these video conferences are taking place at Iraqi embassies and consulates in countries like Germany and France, where large Yazidi diaspora communities reside. According to Elias, between three and five interviews are conducted each week.
The compensation initiative is part of broader national efforts to acknowledge and address the trauma endured by Yazidis under ISIS.
In June 2014, ISIS took control of large areas in northern and western Iraq. Two months later, in August, the group launched a brutal assault on the Yazidi community in the Shingal (Sinjar) district, resulting in the abduction of 6,417 Yazidi women and children. Many were subjected to sexual slavery and forced labor.
As of now, 2,590 Yazidis remain missing, according to the Office of Rescuing Abducted Yazidis, affiliated with the Kurdistan Region Presidency.
An estimated 200,000 Yazidis were also displaced from Shingal during the onslaught, many of whom continue to live in displacement camps across the Kurdistan Region, particularly in Duhok province.
The United Nations has officially recognized the campaign against the Yazidis as a genocide.
