Rebuilding life and livelihoods for women survivors of ISIS

Above: Mayan attends to her herd of sheep. With business grant support, she is now able to earn an income from selling wool, dairy and meat. Photo: Kurdo Hasan/Save the Children International

In Iraq, years of conflict has uprooted millions of people, destroying cities and homes, and impacting on social cohesion, livelihoods and infrastructure.

For many women and girls, the scars of conflict are deeply personal.

Mayan* is a 65-year-old woman from Sinjar and a former ISIS captive, having been kidnapped during the conflict in 2014.

Mayan had lost her husband years before the conflict began, and lived with her mother and brother’s family. Together, the family survived by farming and raising livestock.

When fighting started, the family was forced to flee their home. They lost their livestock and their only source of income.

Mayan, along with most of the women in her village, was kidnapped and held by ISIS forces for more than year.

 “Before the ISIS conflict our psychosocial and financial conditions were good, and we were not stressed and afraid like now,” Mayan said.

“When ISIS came, they kidnapped most of the females in my village including me and killed so many children and men. This changed my life for the worse.”

The government of Iraq regained control of Sinjar in November 2015. Since then, only 64,926 people have returned to the city out of the six million displaced.

The announcement of the defeat of ISIS by the Iraqi authorities in late 2017 didn’t give much hope to displaced Yazidis, who were hesitant to return home due to lack of basic services and damaged infrastructure, including houses.

Mayan’s family was one of those that chose to return. When they arrived back in Sinjar in 2019, they saw a city significantly changed by conflict. Their agricultural business was gone, their home damaged, and they were no longer surrounded by familiar friends and family.

“Sinjar was greatly changed and damaged, and I couldn’t see my relatives, neighbours and other families due to displacement, which affected my mental health,” Mayan said.

“Our mud house was abandoned for five years and it was damaged. The mud house is cold in winter and rainwater leaks down from the roof, but we couldn’t afford to fix it or build a new house.”

“We have been afraid of the changing security conditions, and lack of livelihoods and job opportunities since our return, in addition to the lack of basic services,” said Mayan, reflecting on the ongoing uncertainty the family felt.

With support from the Australian Government through the Australian Humanitarian Partnership (AHP), the Building Peaceful Futures consortium in Iraq has implemented a multi-year response to support returnees. Led by Save the Children Australia, the consortium includes CARE Australia, Handicap International and the Norwegian Refugee Council.

In 2021, as part of the response, Save the Children started a micro-enterprise development initiative for women survivors of ISIS in Sinjar. The project provides training on micro-entrepreneurship and business management, as well as business start-up grants for qualified participants like Mayan.

While Mayan had good experience in farming, she lacked the financial resources to buy livestock upon her return to Sinjar. With the support of the project she was able to start sheep farming again, producing wool, dairy and meat.

 “I had years of experience of sheep and goat farming prior to the ISIS invasion, though I did not have the resources to resume. Save the Children provided me with the resources as well as training on business management to start the business of my dreams. This gave me a sense of happiness that I had not felt in a long time,” Mayan said.

“I participated in the training sessions for four days, which have enabled me to manage my business in a more professional manner and calculate my income, expenses and savings. Then SCI provided me with a grant that enabled me to start my project of raising livestock as a source of income.”

The support came when Mayan’s family needed it at the most, as they had no income source and were struggling to make ends meet.

In addition to Mayan, 37 other women survivors of ISIS have been supported to start small businesses to date through the program, providing them with dignity, independence and a way to support their families.

*Name changed

Story: Kurdo Hasan, Save the Children Iraq