Former Yazidi sex slave wins Nobel Prize for fight to end sexual war crimes

Nadia Murad is a Yazidi human rights activist and survivor of sexual slavery by the Islamic State in Iraq.

By REUTERS

OCTOBER 5, 2018 13:07

Updated: OCTOBER 5, 2018 14:04

Nadia Murad Basee Taha adresses the European Parliament during an award ceremony for the 2016 Sakharov Prize at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, December 13, 2016 (photo credit: VINCENT KESSLER/ REUTERS) — Nadia Murad Basee Taha adresses the European Parliament during an award ceremony for the 2016 Sakharov Prize at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, December 13, 2016

(photo credit: VINCENT KESSLER/ REUTERS)

OSLO - Nadia Murad, a Yazidi human rights activist and survivor of sexual slavery by Islamic State in Iraq, and Denis Mukwege, a gynecologist treating victims of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, are the winners of the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize as announced on Friday.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it had awarded them the prize for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.

"Both laureates have made a crucial contribution to focusing attention on, and combating, such war crimes," it said in its citation.

BREAKING NEWS: The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2018 to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict. #NobelPrize #NobelPeacePrize pic.twitter.com/LaICSbQXWM
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 5, 2018

Mukwege, a gynecologist treating victims of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, leads the Panzi Hospital in the eastern city of Bukavu.

Opened in 1999, the clinic receives thousands of women each year, many of them requiring surgery from sexual violence.

Murad is an advocate for the Yazidi minority in Iraq and for refugee and women's rights in general. She was enslaved and raped by Islamic State fighters in Mosul in 2014.

The prize will be presented in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of the death of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, who founded the awards in his 1895 will.