IS survivor Nadia Murad announces engagement to Yazidi activist

Nadia Murad announced her engagement on social media, saying she was "humbled by all the well wishes".

Nadia Murad and Abid Shamdeen

Nadia Murad and Abid Shamdeen announced their engagement on Twitter. Source: Twitter/Nadia Murad

A Yazidi woman who was abducted and trafficked by her Islamic State captors has announced she is engaged to a fellow Yazidi human rights activist.

Nadia Murad, 25, tweeted that the "struggle of our people" had brought her together with Abid Shamdeen. 

"We are very thankful and humbled for all the wishes & support from our family & friends," she wrote.
Yesterday was a special day for @AbidShamdeen & I. We are very thankful and humbled for all the wishes & support from our family & friends. The struggle of our people brought us together & we will continue this path together. Thank you for your support everyone! pic.twitter.com/MpeEOGguGK — Nadia Murad (@NadiaMuradBasee) August 20, 2018
Posting his own message on Twitter, Mr Shamdeen said: "We met during very difficult times in both our lives but we managed to find love while fighting a huge fight."

Yazda, a US-based NGO which the couple work with, congratulated the pair wishing them "a happy and safe life".

The announcement comes days after the fourth anniversary of the attack on Kocho, Ms Murad's village in northern Iraq.

Her experiences at the hands of IS have driven her to seek justice for the Yazidi people, who have faced what she said was ongoing genocide by the self-proclaimed Islamic State.
Yazda family would like to extend their congratulations to UNODC Goodwill Ambassador @NadiaMuradBasee and @AbidShamdeen on the occasion of their engagement today, wishing them a happy and safe life and a better future for them and all the survivors of the genocide. pic.twitter.com/Yp1INf8PpB — Yazda (@YazdaOrg) August 19, 2018
Then aged 21, she was abducted from her village near Sinjar in August 2014 to be forced into sex slavery by the group. Six of her brothers were killed in the massacre.

Ms Murad managed to escape three months later. 

She told her story to the UN Security Council in 2015, and since then she has become an advocate for the Yazidis and for refugee and women's rights in general.


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