From 27 to 30 April, I had the honour of attending the Women Deliver 2026 Conference in Melbourne. Being there as a Yazidi survivor and speaking for my community was one of the most emotional and important moments of my life.
During the conference, I shared the truth of what happened to Yazidi girls and women during the 2014 Yazidi genocide, carried out by ISIS — a violent extremist organisation responsible for severe human rights violations. I spoke about how thousands of Yazidi women, girls, and children were kidnapped, sold, abused, and taken to different countries. I also shared that this pain has not ended. Even today, many Yazidi families, including mine, are still waiting for news about our loved ones.
I talked about the mass graves in Shingal, which still need to be examined. Families like mine continue to wait for answers, for truth, and for dignity. I also spoke about how some of our neighbours joined ISIS and took part in serious crimes against the Yazidi community. These are painful realities, but they must be told so the world understands that the genocide is not only history — it is still affecting us every day.
One of the highlights for me was meeting Michelle O’Byrne, Australian Ambassador for Gender Equality ’s Ambassador for Gender Equality. She is an Australian Labor politician known for almost thirty years of work supporting women’s rights, reproductive rights, and family‑violence reform. I was very happy to meet her in person and to give her a copy of my book. I truly hope she will find time to read it and share it with higher‑level decision‑makers, because as Yazidi survivors — and as a whole community — we urgently need our voices to be heard and for real action to be taken to support us.
I am deeply grateful to SSI for making this opportunity possible. Thank you to Astrid Perry OAM , Yamamah Agha , and the whole SSI team for organising everything and for standing beside me with so much kindness. I also want to thank Nimo Ahmed , Juliana Nkrumah AM, Violet Roumeliotis AM , and Isabel Dunn for their warm words and encouragement. Their support reminded me that our pain is not forgotten.
I am also thankful to the Armidale Humanitarian Settlement Centre for always supporting me and my community. And a special thank you to Valerie Dalton for coming with me to Melbourne and being by my side throughout the conference. Your presence gave me strength.
Most of all, I want to thank every person who cared enough to listen to the stories of Yazidi survivors. When people listen with open hearts, it brings hope that one day justice will come for our missing women, girls, children, and for all families still waiting for answers.