Statue of Cîlan Berces erected in Shengal

In the genocide and femicide of 3 August 2014 in Shengal, thousands of people were murdered by ISIS, and thousands of Yazidi women were abducted. One of those affected was Cîlan Berces.

As reported by the JINHA news agency, Cîlan Berces was born in 1995 in the village of Til Izêr and was captured by ISIS in 2014. In captivity, she took her own life by opening her wrist with her fingernails and bled to death. She was to be handed over to an ISIS emir and wanted to die rather than be enslaved.

A monument to the young Yazidi woman has been erected in her birthplace, Til Izêr. Representatives of the Shengal Autonomous Administration and the Yazidi women’s movement TAJÊ took part in the inauguration of the bust.

Yazidi women wore traditional dresses and held photos of Cîlan Berces and other murdered women during the inauguration of the monument.

Şemê Dêro referred in a speech to the numerous women murdered by ISIS and said that Cîlan Berces was only one of thousands who were abducted and enslaved: “From my family, 33 people have been killed, including Cîlan. Yet I do not feel alone. I feel pain, but I am not alone. My community has stood by me, supported me and shared my pain.”