Dispatch: Liberated Yazidi women burn their veils as Islamic State crumbles

Dispatch: Liberated Yazidi women burn their veils as Islamic State crumbles

As she emerged from five years captivity inside the Islamic State, Barfe Khalaf Farho wanted one thing more than anything else: fire. 

The 26-year-old Yazidi had been forced to wear a niqab every day of her slavery in the homes of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) fighters and their wives. 

So when she reached the Western-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) last week the first thing she did was tear off her veil and set it aflame. The Kurdish fighters cheered her on as the black garment twisted in the fire. 

“I felt like I was born again,” Ms Farho said. “I thanked God for my freedom.”

Ms Farho was one of thousands of Yazidis kidnapped from the Sinjar region of Iraq in 2014. She was…

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