19 Yazidi girls burnt alive

In the city of Mosul 5 years ago today, 19 Yazidi girls were placed in iron cages and burned alive in front of a crowd of hundreds of people, for refusing to be sex slaves. The girls were taken by the isis terrorists from Sinjar in August 2014.

Yazidis persecution has been a painful historical constant ever since its formation. They are being forced to convert, face execution, or flee. "The dilemma to convert or die is not new," says Christine Allison, an expert on Yazidism at Exeter University.

Yazidism is a rich ancient faith with vast oral tradition that integrates beliefs of ancient Persian Religion, traces of Islamic faith, and Mithraism, a religion that originated in the Eastern Mediterranean. This combination of multiple belief structures branded them as dissenters, heretics among muslims. Yazidis are organised into a religious caste system, they believe in reincarnation after death that led Muslims to believe they are devil worshippers. Yazidis have been facing this accusation since late 16th and early 17th centuries. They are being killed for their belief structures which doesn't resonate with a particular religion. They have faced brutal religious persecution, and live in a state of fear in Iraq.

On 3rd June, 5 years ago 19 Yazidi girls were burnt alive. We pay our solemn homage to the departed souls, and the fight for survival of the Yazidi men and women.