Project Dignity
Summary
Northern Iraq is home to the Yezidi community, one of the most vulnerable religious groups in the world. Since 2016, Khalsa Aid International has worked with Yezidi girls and women who have returned from ISIS captivity to create projects that empower and revitalise the Yezidi identity. Project Dignity is emblematic of this effort.
The problem
Yezidi women endured severe persecution during ISIS's 2014 assault on the Sinjar region, where thousands were killed and many women and girls were captured, subjected to systematic rape, torture, and sold into sexual slavery. Fleeing the horrific violence has stripped young Yezidi girls of their human rights: equality, health, education, and a home.
What we are doing
Khalsa Aid International has set up Project Dignity, thanks to donations from our supporters, to innovatively provide transport, an individual budget, and own clothing to young Yezidi girls.
While clothing is often taken for granted, in situations like these, the simple act of choosing what to wear represents one of the few remaining freedoms after enduring years of violent oppression.
“When I was in ISIS’s hands, all I had to wear was black from head to toe. But today I had the opportunity to go shopping again and buy as many colours as I wanted!”
Khalsa Aid is collaborating with the local staff at the Office of Kidnapped & Rescue Department in Duhok to ensure that each recently registered returnee is included in Project Dignity. Khalsa Aid buys all clothing from local Kurdish businesses, whose livelihoods have also been severely impacted by the war.
With more than 2,000 Yezidi girls and women still considered missing, this project will continue into the foreseeable future.
UN Sustainable Development Goals
This project supports the achievement of the following UN Sustainable Development Goals:
