The Yazidi Women's Freedom Movement (TAJÊ) Diplomatic Committee sent a letter to Executive Director of UN-Women, Sima Bahous, the UN Office on Women's Issues in Geneva, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and Iraqi Cabinet Secretary Dr. Hamid Naeem Al-Ghazi, and Director-General for Missing Persons and Migration Affairs, Diaa Karim Taama.

The letter reads as follows:

“On August 3, 2014, the 74th genocide was carried out against the Yazidi community in Shengal by ISIS mercenaries. Thousands of Yazidis were displaced, killed, and taken captive. Women and children were the most affected by this onslaught. ISIS militants kidnapped thousands of Yazidi girls and women, sold them in markets in Mosul and Raqqa, raped them, and killed them. Captured Yazidis were forced to convert to Islam and were coerced into renouncing their faith. Thousands of Yazidi women and children are still believed to be in ISIS custody, and their whereabouts remain unknown.

In June 2016, during Ramadan, ISIS mercenaries burned alive 19 Yazidi women for refusing to renounce their faith, rejecting polygamy and the degrading conditions of this life, and refusing to fast. ISIS militants first paraded the women through the streets of Mosul before burning them alive in iron cages in front of hundreds of civilians. This massacre was confirmed by at least 10 Middle Eastern and international media outlets. Additionally, there are eyewitnesses who witnessed this massacre.

Such a barbaric massacre has never been seen anywhere in the world. It has once again shown the world that ISIS is the most brutal and systematic organization of this century. ISIS’ actions are inhumane and contrary to all moral and ethical values. To date, the identities of 19 Yazidi women have not been revealed, and no investigation has been conducted. The Iraqi government, human rights organizations, women's groups, and the international community remain silent, and no examination has been made.

TAJÊ listed its demands as follows:

- Those responsible for the murder of 19 Yazidi women who were burned to death in Mosul must be held accountable, and the incident must not be covered up. The struggle for justice and democracy must be enhanced.

- The identities of the 19 Yazidi women must be clarified and made public, and a comprehensive investigation must be conducted on the matter.

- This massacre must be recognized as femicide.

The onslaught on Shengal in 2014

The city of Shengal in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is the last contiguous settlement area of the Yazidi community. Thousands of Yazidis were murdered, and thousands of women and children were taken prisoner in the 3 August 2014 onslaught on Shengal by ISIS militants. While ISIS began murdering Yazidis in Shengal, the Peshmerga left, leaving the Yazidis behind, unprotected. The guerrillas of HPG (People’s Defense Forces) and YJA Star (Free Women’s Troops) and fighters of the YPG (People’s Defense Units) and YPJ (Women’s Defense Units) came to the Yazidi people's aid in the face of ISIS aggression. Thanks to a months-long selfless struggle, the city was liberated on 13 November 2015. After the liberation of the city, the HPG and YPG/YPJ subsequently withdrew in 2017. People who returned to their land after Shengal's independence reformed, established defensive units and built their institutions.

The fate of thousands of Yazidis, especially women, remains unknown. Many were sold in slave markets established by ISIS in cities such as Raqqa, Mosul, Deir ez-Zor, and Al-Bukamal. However, SDF forces have successfully liberated thousands of them, reuniting them to their families in Shengal.