Layla's Story
My Name is Layla
When ISIS tore her community apart, Layla rebuilt her life through our Stronger Women, Stronger Nations programme in Iraq - and is now using her skills and resilience to support her family and inspire hope
My name is Layla. I’m from Sinjar, from a small village in Iraq.
Before ISIS came in August 2014, our lives were simple and full of joy. We lived together with our families and relatives in a close-knit community. We laughed easily, celebrated the small things and looked out for one another. Our home was our pride. It was ours, and it gave me a deep sense of security and happiness. But everything changed when ISIS attacked Sinjar in August 2014.
We fled to Mount Sinjar. The memories of that night still echo in my mind: the screams of terrified children, the cries of fathers and the wailing of mothers. I remember how we escaped.
Relatives in northern Sinjar warned us just in time. We left our home behind and headed straight for the mountain. ISIS was targeting Yazidis.
They kidnapped our women and girls, taking many of them as sex slaves and killed our men without mercy.
We abandoned our homes, our cars, our neighbours and the life we knew. Many of our loved ones are still missing to this day. On the mountain, a friend of mine broke down. She turned to me and said, “Leyla, I can't do this. I can't survive being kidnapped with my children.” Then, before my eyes, she ended her life, and theirs. That pain is beyond words. It will never leave me.
We walked for days without food or water until we reached Duhok. It was a brutal journey, but we survived, somehow.
Living through the darkness over the years, something shifted when I joined the Stronger Women, Stronger Nations programme at Women for Women International, at the of beginning of 2025. Through this programme, I began to see myself differently. I learned skills that helped me manage daily life and slowly regain confidence. I had some basic sewing knowledge before, but this time, I received real training in design, tailoring and taking accurate measurements.
I discovered how to improve my craft, and more importantly, how to adapt to life again.
The economic sessions helped me understand how to save money, manage a budget and think practically about the future. For the first time in a long while, I began to believe that I could do something for myself.
I chose sewing because it's something I’ve always loved. Now, I have started a small tailoring project from home. It’s not big, but it’s mine. It gives me purpose and allows me to support my family in small but meaningful ways.
Still today, we Yazidi survivors feel unheard and forgotten. Many of us still live in camps in northern Iraq, trying to rebuild fragments of what we lost.
Life is still difficult. We are still waiting for justice, still living with loss, still struggling to be heard. But I have found a small corner of strength, and I hold on to it.
What gives me strength now is my children, and the knowledge that thousands of Yazidis are carrying this same pain and still trying to move forward. I don’t know what the future holds, but I know I want to keep going.
WHEN THE WORLD’S ATTENTION MOVES ON, WILL YOU STAND WITH HER?
Support a woman survivor of war through our year-long Stronger Women, Stronger Nations programme. Your solidarity will help her use her voice, realise her power and rebuild her life.
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Faizah has always been brave – even aged 13, when her uncles tried to force her into marriage. So, when ISIS attacked her community and warned her not to flee, she harnessed that defiance and dared to find safety. Faizah dreams of a world without war; of peace for her children. Here is her story.
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