The last girl is the book by Nadia Murad, who has defied all the labels that life has given her : orphan, rape victim, slave, refugee , she instead created new ones : survivor, Yazidi leader, Women’s advocate, noble peace prize nominee , United Nations good will ambassador and now author.
Born and raised in Kocho, Iraq, Nadia grew up hearing about the genocide stories and attacks their community faced in the past and would have never imagined that they would have to face the same fate . She enjoyed a quiet childhood in her small farming village surrounded by a large extended family. The Daesh or ISIS arrived on Kocho in the early morning of August 3,2014 , ISIS militants laid siege to Kocho which changed the lives of everyone in the town . After the village leader refused to convert to Islam, despite threats of violence and death, Kochos men were killed and buried in mass graves while the old , young women and young boys were watching helplessly . Then older women like authors mother were killed , boys were forced to join the ISIS and young girls and women like the author were sold to the ISIS slave trade where they were subjected to violence and rape. They were held captive by a group of brutal militants whom we can’t consider as human beings . Author’s first attempt to escape was in vain and she was brutally punished for that but the second attempt to escape was successful with the help of an Arab family who risked their own life to help her to escape to Kurdistan where she was reunited with the Yazidi community.
This is an amazing book which tells you the very disheartening experience of Nadia Murad who has proved herself to be a real life hero who suffered a lot but had courage to try again and again to come out of the clutches of the ISIS hell.
I will suggest this book to everyone. 😊
Reviwed by Aavani Panicker, Class 12
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