Key Takeaways
- The Islamic State (IS) institutionalised the enslavement of Yazidi women and children, producing ledgers, contracts and religious manuals that regulated their ownership, trade and abuse.
- Although extensive documentation exists, only a small number of perpetrators have been prosecuted worldwide, and the majority of those charged are women.
- Australia has recently charged two of its own citizens with crimes against humanity (enslavement, possession and use of slaves) and a third with terrorism‑related offences, marking the first use of Division 268 of the Criminal Code for IS‑related slavery prosecutions.
- Germany led the earliest prosecutions using universal jurisdiction; a German woman (referred to as “Jennifer W”) was the first person tried for crimes against Yazidi slaves, receiving a 14‑year sentence after appeal.
- Courts in the Netherlands, Sweden and France have also handed down convictions, highlighting a growing international effort to hold women accountable for their roles in IS’s slave system.
- Experts note that while IS was profoundly misogynistic, some women exercised agency and acted as enforcers, controllers and even slave‑owners within the group’s bureaucracy.
- The Australian case is described as “groundbreaking” because it will require prosecutors to prove not only individual acts but also the broader context of IS’s organised sexual‑slavery enterprise.
Background on IS’s Yazidi Enslavement System
For years, the Islamic State did not merely abduct Yazidi women and children; it created a bureaucratic apparatus to manage their enslavement. IS produced ledgers, sales contracts and religious manuals that specified how captives could be owned, traded and abused. This systematic documentation distinguished IS’s slave trade from ad‑hoc wartime abuses and provided evidence that later prosecutors could use to demonstrate the organisational nature of the crimes.
Global Prosecutions Remain Limited
Despite the wealth of evidence, only a handful of individuals worldwide have faced charges for IS‑related slavery offences. Most prosecutions have targeted women accused of facilitating, enforcing or profiting from the slave system. The low number of cases reflects jurisdictional challenges, the difficulty of linking distant crimes to domestic courts, and a historical focus on prosecuting male combatants for terrorism rather than gender‑based atrocities.
Australia’s Recent Charges
In May 2024, two Australian women who had returned from Syria were charged with crimes against humanity: Kawsar Abbas (53) faces enslavement, possession of a slave, using a slave and slave‑trading; Zeinab Ahmad (31) is charged with enslavement and use of a slave. A third woman faces terrorism‑related offences. These marks the first time Australia employs Division 268 of the Criminal Code—which covers crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide—to prosecute alleged IS slavery acts, each carrying a maximum penalty of 25 years’ imprisonment.
Germany’s Pioneering Role
Germany initiated the world’s first prosecutions over IS crimes against Yazidis in 2021, invoking universal jurisdiction laws to try acts committed abroad. The case against a German IS member known only as “Jennifer W” resulted in a conviction for crimes against humanity after she failed to prevent the death of an enslaved five‑year‑old Yazidi girl. On appeal, her sentence rose from 10 to 14 years. Her husband, Taha al‑J, was also convicted for chaining the girl outside in extreme heat while her mother, also enslaved, was forced to watch. Since then, at least five additional women have been convicted in German courts for similar crimes.
Convictions in Other European States
Courts in the Netherlands, Sweden and France have pursued comparable cases. In 2023, a Swedish court sentenced Lina Ishaq, 52, to 12 years’ imprisonment for holding three Yazidi women and six children as slaves in Raqqa between 2014 and 2016; she forced captives to wear veils, practice Islam and subjected them to physical assault. French and Dutch tribunals have likewise handed down sentences, underscoring a trans‑European commitment to accountability for IS‑enabled slavery.
Iraq’s Early Proceedings
Even before the European trials, Iraq prosecuted a widow of IS leader Abu Bakr al‑Baghdadi in 2014 for detaining Yazidi women in her home and facilitating their kidnapping by IS gangs in Sinjar. The Iraqi judicial council sentenced her to death for “detaining Yazidi women in her home” and complicity in enslavement, showing that national jurisdictions also sought justice, albeit under vastly different legal frameworks.
Why Women Appear Prominently in Prosecutions
Analysts suggest the prevalence of women in slavery prosecutions stems partly from the collapse of IS’s self‑declared caliphate in 2019, which left many male fighters dead or detained, making terrorism charges more straightforward. Simultaneously, growing recognition that some women under IS were not merely victims but active participants—enforcing dress codes, running brothels, overseeing slave transfers, and even owning slaves—has prompted prosecutors to examine female agency within the group’s patriarchal structure.
The Dual Reality of Women’s Roles Under IS
Experts caution against conflating participation with equivalence to male perpetrators. While IS was “deeply misogynistic and patriarchal,” certain women exercised agency, sometimes making decisions that contributed to the slave system. Scholars such as Susan Hutchinson of the Australian National University warn that the “ISIS bride” label can obscure this nuance, emphasizing that accountability must recognise both the women’s alleged crimes and the oppressive environment in which they operated.
Australia’s Groundbreaking Legal Approach
Australia’s prosecution is notable for attempting to prove not only the individual alleged acts of enslavement but also the broader organisational context of IS’s slave trade. Anti‑slavery Commissioner Dr James Cockayne described the case as the first exploration in an Australian court of “chattel slavery” revived by IS after a 150‑year hiatus. Success would require prosecutors to demonstrate that the accused acted within a systematic framework of ownership, trade and abuse, rather than as isolated actors.
Implications for Yazidi Survivors and Future Accountability
For Yazidi advocates and survivors, the Australian charges represent a long‑awaited step toward accountability. Advocates like Hutchinson express relief that, after years of impunity for Australians who joined IS, the legal system is finally addressing alleged crimes against the Yazidi community. The case may set a precedent for prosecuting other foreign fighters and their supporters, reinforcing the principle that slavery‑related crimes against humanity can be pursued domestically even when the acts occurred overseas.
Conclusion
The enslavement of Yazidi women and children by the Islamic State was a meticulously documented, bureaucratised crime. While global prosecutions have remained scarce and have disproportionately targeted women, recent actions in Australia, Germany, Sweden, France and elsewhere signal a growing willingness to confront the full spectrum of perpetration—including the roles women played as enforcers, owners and facilitators. Australia’s pioneering use of crimes‑against‑humanity legislation promises to shed light on IS’s organised sexual‑slavery system and may pave the way for further accountability efforts worldwide.