By: Alejandra Rocha
April 19, 2021
Almost seven years ago, ISIS launched a genocidal campaign against the Yazidis, through which they inflicted rape as a key instrument of war. ISIS fighters enslaved Yazidis through several means; they sought to transform Yazidi women into their commodities, wives, prostitutes, child bearers, and prayer objects. In this vein, my research paper aims to address two questions. Firstly, how did ISIS select and interpret sacred texts to theologically rationalize sexual violence? Secondly, how did ISIS use rape, sex, and power over women for recruitment and as incentives for fighters’ loyalty to the group?
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Callimachi, Rukmini. “ISIS Enshrines a Theology of Rape.” The New York Times (August 13, 2015).
Desbois, Patrick, and Costel Nastasie. The Terrorist Factory: ISIS, the Yazidi Genocide, and Exporting Terror. New York: Arcade Publishing, 2018.
Murad, Nadia, and Jenna Krajeski. The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity and My Fight Against the Islamic State. London: Virago Press, 2018.
Roth, Kenneth. “Slavery: The ISIS Rules.” Human Rights Watch (March 18, 2016).
María Alejandra Rocha (SFS‘21) graduated from the School of Foreign Service majoring in science, technology, and international affairs with dual minors in Jewish civilizations and religion, ethics, and world affairs. At the Berkley Center, she worked as a research assistant for Senior Research Fellow Rev. Gerald McGlone.
