ISIS Sex Slave: My Price Was Eight Dollars

Jinan, a young Yazidi girl who escaped from the captivity of the Islamic State (ISIS), has published a book titled "ISIS Slave" in France. This book was written with the help of Thierry Oberle, a reporter for Le Figaro. Jinan was captured during the first attacks of ISIS fighters in northern Iraq and was moved to various locations by the group before being purchased by two men, a former police officer and a cleric. According to the French-language site "La Libre" in Belgium, Jinan states, "My price was ten thousand Iraqi dinars or eight dollars." Yazidi and Christian girls and women are sold as sex slaves in markets established in Iraq. Jinan, an 18-year-old Yazidi girl who had a detailed interview with Agence France-Presse, was captured by the Islamic State in early 2014 in northern Iraq but managed to escape about three months ago. In her interview with AFP, Jinan described the conditions of captivity for Yazidi girls: "They tortured us and wanted to forcibly convert our religion. If we resisted, they would beat us severely or chain us outside under the sun and force us to drink dirty water that had a dead mouse in it. Sometimes they threatened to electrocute us." Jinan says, "They are not human; they only think about death and killing. They are always on drugs. They take revenge on anyone they can. They say that one day the Islamic State will rule the entire world." In a section of her book titled "ISIS Slave," published last Friday, Jinan explains that in the early days of captivity, she and several other women were gathered in a large celebration hall in Mosul. Jinan recalls, "ISIS fighters were circling among us, laughing wildly and pinching our buttocks." She remembers one of the men saying, "I am looking for a blue-eyed Yazidi woman with fair skin and I am willing to pay any price for her." In these slave markets, she saw not only Iraqi and Syrian men but also men from Western countries, although she could not identify their nationalities. She added that the most beautiful girls were set aside for wealthy customers from Gulf countries. After Jinan was sold, she was imprisoned in a house, and her buyers visited her daily. One scene from this market depicts: "The market supervisor examined the women's conditions like animals and priced each one. A trader in the market told one of the fighters, 'I will trade your revolver for this brown-haired girl. If you want to pay cash, the price is 150 dollars. I also accept Iraqi dinars.' The two men who owned Jinan were sure she did not know Arabic and spoke freely in front of her. One night she overheard a conversation that showed how the sex slave trade was organized like any other economic activity. One of the men named Abu Ammar said, 'No one can buy more than three slaves unless they are from Turkey, Syria, or Gulf countries.' The other, named Abu Anas, replied, 'This is good for business. For example, someone from Saudi Arabia spends a lot of money on travel compared to a member of ISIS here, and to cover this cost, they should have the right to buy more.' After stealing the house key, Jinan managed to escape from her captivity and reach her husband. She now lives in a Yazidi refugee camp in Iraqi Kurdistan.