Middle East alliances — this month's Global Minnesota Great Decisions dialogue — have often been between governments ruthlessly ruled by so-called "strongmen."
But in some areas an even more fundamental force — strong women — are rising despite spiraling violence. Two such women, Dr. Nagham Nawzat Hasan of Iraq and Nihal Naj Ali Al-Awlaqi of Yemen, who were among 14 honored with the State Department's International Women of Courage Award, visited Minnesota this week to talk about their countries' crises. Their grit, and gifts, show how much Mideast societies could benefit from fuller participation by women.
Hasan, a gynecologist and activist, was among the first to respond to the horrors inflicted upon her Yazidi community by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Secretary of State John Kerry, referring to those "dark days," summarized the nihilists' crimes as he lauded Hasan's "perseverance in championing the rights of Yazidi women and girls, even in the face of extraordinary adversity."
Yet the most telling testament to what Yazidis face — especially women — came from Hasan herself. "There are some stories I'm not able to forget," she said in an interview. With chilling detail she recounted how scores of Yazidi girls and women have been kidnapped, gang-raped, sold as sex slaves, tortured and sometimes eventually killed. Even children are brainwashed into killing or are used as human shields. Many escapees, despite being welcomed back in their communities, attempt suicide. Describing survivors' "total psychological collapse," Hasan said that this was not the first attempted genocide against Yazidis, but that previous attempts were in "the Dark Ages and we never expected in the 21st century" such "animalistic behavior."
Then, reflecting an alliance often overlooked here at home, she thanked America for striking ISIL just in time. "I want to thank the U.S. for the wonderful thing they did for us," Hasan said. "If it were not for hits from the U.S., the whole Yazidi minority would have been victims of genocide."
Yazidis have fiercely fought back, too, including some women combatants. "Personally, I salute any woman who fights ISIL from wherever she is, and I consider this honor I have received is not just for me, it is for them, and all the survivors and mothers who have lost their sons in this battle."
It's not Mideast alliances, but adversaries that are among the defining dynamics in Yemen's warfare. But Al-Awlaqi, Yemen's minister of legal affairs, said in an interview that it's more complicated than the depiction of an Iran-Saudi Arabia proxy war.
Al-Awlaqi is well-credentialed to decipher the conflict's complexities. Kerry hailed her as a "breaker of barriers" who helped draft her country's constitution, is the only woman in the peace talk delegation with Houthi rebels, and is a champion of girls and women.
