Human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nadia Murad honored the brave women in her rural Iraqi town for advocating for change for themselves, their families, and loved ones.
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00:00 Thank you to Time Magazine for recognizing me and congratulations to my
00:05 fellow women of the year. Since receiving this honor I have thought a lot about
00:12 what feminist feminism means to me and what it means to be included alongside
00:18 this incredible list of accomplished women. I grew up in Iraq in a quiet
00:27 peaceful rural village. There were no activists or women that referred to
00:33 themselves as feminists. I don't think anyone ever used the word feminism. In
00:39 fact I don't think I knew what the word feminist meant. Life was practical,
00:47 focused on day-to-day tasks like taking care of the farm and raising
00:54 children. We knew little of the world outside of our village and the world
01:02 knew very little if anything about us. That all changed when we were violently
01:09 attacked by ISIS. ISIS tried to destroy the women of my community but many of us
01:18 survived to tell our story and what I know now is that I was surrounded by
01:24 feminists growing up. Powerful strong-willed women who were always
01:31 pushing for change. Women who left bad marriages at great risk to themselves.
01:38 Women who didn't have the chance to go to school but worked hard every day to
01:44 send their children to school. Women who believed in equality and worked to be
01:51 recognized in the community. Women who dedicated their lives no matter what
01:56 the risk to ensure that their daughter's lives would be better. Women like my
02:02 mother who left an unhappy marriage and raised 11 children on her own. Who fought
02:09 the stigma of divorce with humor and determination and she taught me that
02:15 women can be the head of a household. Women who fought the terrorists. Women
02:22 who had the courage to escape captivity. Women that returned from refugee camps
02:28 to rebuild their homeland. I am grateful to all of the women my village Kojo who
02:35 unknowingly taught me to be an activist. I dedicate this award to all the young
02:41 women like me who were raised in vulnerable communities by strong women.
02:47 Thank you so much.
02:50 [APPLAUSE]