This week, I’d like to introduce you to human rights activist Nadia Murad. In 2014, when Nadia was just 21, ISIS surrounded her village in Northern Iraq and changed her life irrevocably.
Nadia’s powerful story (which you can hear on my podcast Dua Lipa: At Your Service tomorrow) is not an easy listen. She has suffered the worst human cruelty and degradation imaginable – but she is no victim. She not only survived, but she also became a global champion for survivors of sexual violence, and even won a Nobel Peace Prize along the way.
In addition to Nadia, the other women you’ll read about in this issue are also special, in so many different ways. There’s Lavinya Stennett, founder of The Black Curriculum, who took on the British education system at just 23 years old; Daria Kaleniuk, a fearless anti-corruption campaigner from embattled Ukraine; and Iman Le Caire, a trans woman from Egypt who uses her own experience of persecution to help trans people around the world reach a place of safety.
I hope you – like me – find inspiration in these powerful stories.
Dua x
