The last of the ISIS caliphate set up in Syria and Iraq fell in 2019, but hundreds of young women taken as sexual slaves during the Islamic State's reign are believed to remain in captivity. As the New York Times reports, no official entity exists to look for these members of the Yazidi religious minority. Instead, what the newspaper describes as a "modern Underground Railroad" made up of volunteers is dedicated to the mission. The story, for example, begins in suburban Maryland, where Pari Ibrahim spends her nights poring over photographs sent to the nonprofit foundation she runs, the Free Yezidi Foundation (which uses an alternate spelling for the minority group).
"Sometimes, late at night, I'm working to see if this girl is someone who can be identified," she says as she studies photos. "Ten years brings a lot of change into someone's face and appearance. It's not easy." Thousands of Yazidis were kidnapped by ISIS, and the UN Refugee Agency estimates 3,000 remain unaccounted for. Ibrahim's group believes up to 1,000 women remain alive and in captivity, many of them having been sold by their abductors to men in other nations after the caliphate fell.
The story interviews similarly minded activists around the world—including in Syria, Iraq, Germany, and Australia—who use tactics such as posing as ISIS members on the group's Telegram channels. Read the full story, which documents the challenges of freeing the women once they are identified—including the captives' fears they will not be accepted back because of the abuse they endured. (More Yazidis stories.)
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