Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to stand today and congratulate the most recent recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize: Nadia Murad.
Captured by Islamic State militants at 21, Nadia was forced to endure three months as a sex slave. The militants killed anyone who refused to convert to Islam, including her mother and six of her brothers. She was bought and sold several times and regularly abused during her captivity. Being raped became part of a normal day for her. Incredibly, Nadia escaped, and this remarkable, strong and resilient young woman chose to fight on behalf of the Yazidi people and the thousands of women still suffering at the hands of the Islamic State.
She was awarded the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize by the Council of Europe in 2016 and the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the European Parliament. She was named the first UN goodwill ambassador for survivors of human trafficking.
Therefore, it is only fitting that Nadia won the Nobel Peace Prize and is the first Iraqi to do so. We commend her courage and her will to use her personal tragedy for the benefit of others.