Children born to Yezidi mothers raped by Islamic State (#ISIS# ) captors will not be accepted into the Yezidi faith, the Spiritual Council clarified on Saturday, days after it implied “all” survivors would be taken in.
In a new statement published on Saturday, the council said coverage of its earlier statement was “distorting the truth”.
“About the decision to accept the female survivors and children, we did not mean the children born as a result of rape at all, but those who were born from Yezidi parents and were kidnapped during the invasion of Sinjar [Shingal] by Daesh on August 03-08- 2014,” the council clarified Saturday, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS.
The earlier statement, published on Wednesday and signed by the council’s deputy head Hazim Tahseen Saadi, did not specifically mention children born out of rape, but it did say the community would accept “the return of all the Daesh survivors as we consider what happened to them outside of their will”.
By implication, this appeared to include children born of rape.
The Yezidi faith does not accept marriage and conception between Yezidis and non-Yezidis, nor does it allow conversion.
Speaking to Rudaw, Murad Ismael, head of Yezidi rights group Yazda, said the clarification was the result of opposition from within the Yezidi community itself.
“The clarification came as a result of strong opposition by some factions of the community, including Yezidi political parties, religious figures, and some tribal and community leaders. For many people this was seen as too much and a clear violation of Yezidi religion,” he said.
Ismael believes the first statement was issued without first conferring with the wider community and without consideration for its legal implications.
“Obviously the previous statement included all Yazidi women and their children. I think they attenuated the language due to sensitivity but it was clearly meant to accept all children,” Ismael said.
“I do agree that the first statement was done in a rush, without consultation with the wider community, and without a plan of execution. For example, legality around this was not discussed. Iraqi law states clearly that all children born to a Muslim parent should be registered as a Muslim,” he added.
The Yazda chief warned the decision will have “catastrophic outcomes” for the children themselves.
“As a humanitarian and advocacy organization for the rights of Yezidis and other religious minorities, we are saddened by the rejection,” Ismael said. “We will continue to seek other avenues to address this issue. The issue of captives is the most important one to us.”
“There will be catastrophic outcomes if we fail to address issue of children born out of rape. Children are children and they should never be treated as criminals — regardless to who were the biological parents.”
“However, we abide by and respect the statement of the council as the highest authority of the Yezidi faith,” he added.
Thousands of Yezidi men and elderly people slaughtered by ISIS militants and buried in mass graves during the 2014 genocide. Women and children were abducted and sold into slavery – many facing years of repeated sexual violence.
Of 6,417 Yezidis kidnapped by ISIS, the fate of 2,992 remains unclear, according to Yezidi Affairs Office from the KRG Ministry Religion and Endowment. [1]