By Eleanor Patten
The importance of Nadia Murad’s story can hardly be put into words. Her book The Last Girl discusses inconceivable horror with honesty, pain, and unmatched candor. Nadia’s story is one of a Yazidi girl, taken by the Islamic State, who eventually becomes an activist for the Yazidi people. Yet, to summarize her story in such a manner cheapens the significance of her achievements and distracts from the current status of the Yazidi people.
What happened and what is happening to Yazidi people is genocide. Their destruction was systematically planned and their religion was used against them. The Last Girl serves to inform readers about these unconscionable acts in a way that is deeply personal.
While Nadia Murad holds nothing back about the tragedies she endured along with her fellow Yazidis, at the core of her book is the desire for tolerance. From the beginning of her story it is clear that Nadia’s love for her religion surpasses everything. Her religion ties her to her family, her community, and the world. Misunderstanding and misuse of this faith caused her unimaginable trauma. In her book she yearns for understanding of her faith and is using her platform to bring awareness to the Yazidi faith and the belief that all religions should be able to practice freely.
At a time when religious freedom is being tested around the world, The Last Girl is an example of the evil that can arise from divisions and is a reminder that humanity needs to be at the core of everything. Time and time again throughout her story Nadia raises questions about bystanders. How can good people let injustice slip by? What makes humans capable of destruction and violence towards other human beings? Could civilians have stopped the nightmares being inflicted upon the Yazidi’s?
While asking these questions during her journey Nadia strives to have sympathy for those who have conducted seemingly unforgiveable acts. She tries to understand how citizens could remain silent as buses of women headed toward servitude passed them and how soldiers who promised to protect Yazidis abandoned their posts. She remembers her country and home with love even after all her childhood memories were tinged with sadness. Her adept introspection, stark description, and thoughtful commentary make The Last Girl an informative and powerful testament to the abilities of a young women faced with the impossible.
Readers of The Last Girl are taught about resilience, faith, and loss in a way that clearly shows how deserving Nadia Murad is of the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize. There is so much value to be found within the pages of The Last Girl. Themes addressing violence against women, the power of family, limits of faith, and the human capacity for bravery will inspire and incite heartbreak in the same sentence. Nadia hopes that no one ever has to tell a story like hers and the first step to making that dream a reality is reading her book.
Nadia currently works with https://nadiasinitiative.org/ to advocate on behalf of minority groups, educate about genocide, respond to sexual violence, and restore sacred Yazidi spaces in Sinjar.
