Pope Francis Meets Nobel Peace Prize Winner Championing Women Rights in Iraq, Afghanistan

Pope Francis told journalists in March that he was inspired to travel to Iraq partly by Murad’s memoir, “The Last Girl.”

“Nadia Murad tells terrifying things. I recommend you read it. In some places, it may seem heavy, but for me, this is the underlying reason for my decision,” the pope said on his return flight from Baghdad on March 8.

Islamic State militants captured Murad six years ago after killing six of her brothers, her mother, and more than 600 Yazidis in her Iraqi village. She was enslaved, along with most of the young women in her community, and repeatedly raped by the ISIS fighters.

After being sold as a slave multiple times and suffering both sexual and physical abuse, Murad escaped ISIS at the age of 23 after three months of captivity. After relocating to Germany, she used her freedom to become an advocate for Yazidi women who remained in ISIS captivity.

She is serving as a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking and founded Nadia’s Initiative, an organization to help female victims of violence.

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Murad was the first Iraqi to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She was finally able to bury the remains of two of her brothers in her hometown in Kocho in February 2021.

The U.S. State Department declared in 2016 that Yazidis, along with the Christian and Shia Muslim religious minorities, were victims of a genocide perpetrated by the Islamic State.

Murad has said that Pope Francis’ trip to Iraq last March was “a sign of hope for all minorities.”

“Not only is Pope Francis’ visit to Iraq historic in itself, but it also comes at a historic time for the Iraqi people, as they rebuild from genocide, religious persecution, and decades of conflict,” Murad told Vatican News in March.

“The pope’s visit shone a light on the potential for peace and religious freedom. It symbolized that all Iraqis -- no matter their faith -- are equally deserving of dignity and human rights.”