In 2014 Sinjar, home to Yazidi ethno-religious minority, was the site of what the United Nations called an ISIS-led genocidal campaign.
The mercenaries shot, beheaded or burnt alive and kidnapped thousands of Yazidi people, especially women. Many were forced into sexual slavery. “The draft bill presented to parliament guarantees the rights of female Yazidi survivors of ISIS. It proposes they get monthly allowance, rehabilitation and to ensure a dignified life,” the president’s office said on Twitter.
The draft law stipulates that priority shall be given the Yazidi women who wish to work for the government. It also aims to recognize the 2014 events as a “genocide” and to declare August 3, the day ISIS attacked Sinjar, as a national holiday.
A special committee shall be established on Yazidi issues that is linked to parliament. “It will provide the required care, housing and studying opportunities for Yazidi women as well as address the legal status for children born during these circumstances,” the office said.
The draft was compiled on March 28, according to Mr Salih’s office. It remains unclear when parliament will vote on the new law.
Nadia Murad, a Yazidi woman who escaped ISIS captivity and won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for her activism against sexual violence, participated in the discussion of the draft bill with Mr Salih. She was one of an estimated 3,000 Yazidi women and girls who were kidnapped and sold into sexual slavery.
Thousands of Yazidi members are still unaccounted for and the majority of the community has yet to return home.