Imagine choosing to set yourself on fire in order to escape from being repeatedly raped by Islamic State fighters. Yasmin, a 16-year-old Yazidi girl did just that, she doused herself with gasoline and lit herself on fire. The fire burned her hair, eyelids, mouth, nose, and ears away. That was her only option in her mind to escape life as an underage sex slave. Thousands of Yazidi girls and women have been raped, abused, and killed at the hands of ISIS. Luckily she is now living in Germany and has access to counseling and medical treatment.

Her story and the thousands like it are the true “war on women” and not just a phrase coined by politicians to attack the policies of the other party. Most people that fight for the so called “war on women” have never been exposed to something like this.  This is tangible and out of their comfort zone. These girls and women are a reason to fight for women’s rights and end the advancement of radical Islamic terrorists like Islamic State.

Image courtesy of Twitter