DİYARBAKIR - Women for Justice director Dr. Leyla Ferman said: “The status of Shengal needs to be recognized.”

 

It has been 9 years since the attack by ISIS against Shengal on August 3, 2014, known as the “74th Massacre”. More than 10 thousand Ezidis were killed in the attacks, and more than 6 thousand people, including women and children, were kidnapped. The fate of thousands of people is still unknown. According to estimates, 2,700 Ezidi women are still held captive by ISIS. While efforts are underway to find the missing Ezidis, it has been revealed that some of the Ezidi women and children kidnapped by ISIS members have been sold for money in Ankara in recent years.

 

WORKS OF THE PLATFORM

 

In Diyarbakır, the "Platform for Struggle for Forced Detained Women" was established under the leadership of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) and the Kongreya Jinên Azad (Free Women's Congress-KJA), which was closed by the Decree on February 17, 2015. The platform carried out studies with the women rescued from ISIS to determine their responsibilities in the process leading up to the genocide. As Ezidis left Turkey and many rescued women and children migrated to Germany, the platform began to work there.

 

“Justice for Women”, created in Germany in 2019, continues its activities as a non-governmental organization. As a director of Justice for Women, Dr. Leyla Ferman talked about her work.

 

Explaining that they started to work with a platform that included co-mayors, lawyers, journalists and women activists in Amed after the ISIS attack, Ferman said: “At that time, we were talking about protecting the survivors of ISIS and what women are going through. In those meetings, women especially demanded 'justice'. In this sense, we decided to conduct a legal study on the genocide that took place, and we started to record the accounts of women.”

 

REQUEST FOR JUSTICE

 

Noting that the women who were subjected to the massacres told what they saw and experienced despite the fear they got through and their families demanding "justice" despite their being held captive by ISIS, Ferman said: "Women were telling what they were going through for the legal struggle. The families of many of them were in the hands of ISIS and they did not want it to be shared with the press or the public. There are still those who are afraid. When Ezidis left Turkey, we came to Germany because many Ezidi women and children who were rescued from ISIS started to live in Germany. We moved our work to Germany in order to ensure that justice is done, to report on the experiences of Ezidi women and to use them legally in the future.”

 

'THE EXISTENCE OF ISIS CONTINUES'

 

Stating that they prepared a report with the Ezidi Justice Commission (YJC) in 2022, Ferman said: "The report reveals that Turkey, Syria and Iraq should be tried at the International Court of Justice on the grounds that they were 'accomplices in the actions of the Ezidi genocide'. Together with many human rights institutions in the international arena, a report was prepared on 'What did the states do in the genocide in Shengal? What were they supposed to do? What did they do to prevent Ferman?' They could have prevented the Massacre, but they did not. There is evidence that Turkey cooperated with ISIS, and it is accused of it. Those who are still members of ISIS and those who hold Ezidi women hostage live in Turkey. Ezidi women are in Turkey's capital today. If they still have to be bought by their families with money, this shows that the existence of ISIS continues. If Turkey wanted, those women could be liberated."

 

'WE ARE LOOKING FOR A STATE TO OPEN A CASE'

 

Noting that they have enough evidence to file a lawsuit against Syria, Turkey and Iraq at the United Nations Court of Justice, Ferman said: "This could not be done due to certain procedures in international law. In order to file a lawsuit at the Court of Justice, a state has to complain about a state. We continue to work for this. We are looking for a state that can file a lawsuit against Turkey, Syria and Iraq for not preventing this Massacre."

 

'THE STATUE OF SHENGAL NEEDS TO BE RECOGNIZED'

 

Describing the attack on Shengal as a dark day for Kurdish society and the Ezidis, Ferman said: “The society was in shock. Nobody expected this. Today, Ezidi women defend their own culture and land. This is a first in history. Today, if people loss their life for their own land and culture, nothing can be more valuable than that. Although the Massacre was a heavy process at first, it also brought an awakening with it. This Massac also paved the way for the organization of the Ezidi people and their women. In this regard, the steps taken in Shengal, the formation and organization of the Ezidis' assemblies are the biggest response to this Massacre. As long as Êzidîs do not create their own organization and self-defense, they will not have a future. The Êzidî people are not obliged to seek permission from anyone for their self-defense. Shengal's status needs to be recognized as soon as possible."

 

MA / Berivan Altan