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With Ash on Their Faces: Yezidi Women and the Islamic State
ISIS’s genocidal attack on the Yezidi population in northern Iraq in 2014 brought the world’s attention to the small faith that numbers less than one million worldwide. That summer ISIS massacred Yezidi men and enslaved women and children. More than one hundred thousand Yezidis were besieged on Sinjar Mountain. The US began airstrikes to roll back ISIS, citing a duty to save the Yezidis, but the genocide is still ongoing.
The headlines have moved on but thousands of Yezidi women and children remain in captivity, and many more are still displaced. Sinjar is now free from ISIS but the Yezidi homeland is at the centre of growing tensions amongst the city’s liberators, making returning home for the Yezidis almost impossible.
The mass abduction of Yezidi women and children is here conveyed with extraordinary intensity in the first-hand reporting of a young journalist who has been based in Iraqi Kurdistan for the past four years, covering the war with ISIS and its impact on the people of the country.
Otten tells the story of the ISIS attacks, the mass enslavements of Yezidi women and the fallout from the disaster. She challenges common perceptions of Yezidi female victimhood by focusing on stories of resistance passed down by generations.
Yezidi women describe how, in the recent conflict, they followed the tradition of their ancestors who, a century ago during persecutions at the fall of the Ottoman empire, put ash on their faces to make themselves unattractive and try to avoid being raped.
Today, over 3,000 Yezidi women and girls remain in the Caliphate where they are bought and sold, and passed between fighters as chattel. But many other have escaped or been released. Otten bases her book on interviews with these survivors, as well as those who smuggled them to safety, painstakingly piecing together their accounts of enslavement. Their deeply moving personal narratives bring alive a human tragedy.
The headlines have moved on but thousands of Yezidi women and children remain in captivity, and many more are still displaced. Sinjar is now free from ISIS but the Yezidi homeland is at the centre of growing tensions amongst the city’s liberators, making returning home for the Yezidis almost impossible.
The mass abduction of Yezidi women and children is here conveyed with extraordinary intensity in the first-hand reporting of a young journalist who has been based in Iraqi Kurdistan for the past four years, covering the war with ISIS and its impact on the people of the country.
Otten tells the story of the ISIS attacks, the mass enslavements of Yezidi women and the fallout from the disaster. She challenges common perceptions of Yezidi female victimhood by focusing on stories of resistance passed down by generations.
Yezidi women describe how, in the recent conflict, they followed the tradition of their ancestors who, a century ago during persecutions at the fall of the Ottoman empire, put ash on their faces to make themselves unattractive and try to avoid being raped.
Today, over 3,000 Yezidi women and girls remain in the Caliphate where they are bought and sold, and passed between fighters as chattel. But many other have escaped or been released. Otten bases her book on interviews with these survivors, as well as those who smuggled them to safety, painstakingly piecing together their accounts of enslavement. Their deeply moving personal narratives bring alive a human tragedy.
256 pages, Paperback
First published October 15, 2017
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402 people want to read
About the author
Cathy Otten
1 book9 followersCathy Otten is a British writer and journalist based in Iraqi Kurdistan. She writes for a range of publications including the Independent, Newsweek, BBC, TIME, Vogue, Politico, Monocle, the Guardian and the Telegraph. She is a regular commentator on TV and radio, talking about Iraq and the war with ISIS.
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December 11, 2017Survivors of seventy two separate genocides
Every evening after evening prayer I usually go to Cafeteria where we usually play Chess and gossip about politics and in going to Cafeteria I pass near Large Mosques wherein the evening they usually give religious sermons in the night.
I don’t know what stopped me that night but in one mosques they were giving sermons and subject was ethic of Slavery and how you treat your slaves more Humanly, I don’t why will some people waste their time listening to this rubbish and since listening more to that sermon made feel revulsion and disgust
Revulsion for still in 21 century there are still people believe in slaving people.
But what happens when people took their faith too seriously and obediently believe everything there and follow them blindly here comes this important book, with ash on their face by the British journalist Cathy Otten.
It fallows the Yazidi genocide in August 2014 when ISIS stormed Yazidi towns and villages in Sinjar Mountain.
“ Yazidi are a majority-Kurdish-speaking religious group living mostly in northern Iraq and numbering less than one million worldwide. They worship a single God, believe in reincarnation, and revere the peacock angel, known as Melek Tawuse, as God’s representative on earth. The peacock angel was often miscast as the devil of other religions, which resulted in the Yezidis, throughout their history, being persecuted as infidels by Muslim rulers who demanded they convert. “
In 2014 ISIS jihadist has embarked in genocidal compaign in which they tried to exterminate Yazidi people and faith from the face of earth by killing their men and enslaving their women and children.
“An estimated 6,383 Yezidis—mostly women and children—were enslaved and transported to ISIS prisons, military training camps, and the homes of fighters across eastern Syria and western Iraq, where they were raped, beaten, sold, and locked away. By mid-2016, 2,590 women and children had escaped or been smuggled out of the caliphate and 3,793 remained in captivity. 2 Around three thousand Yezidis were killed, half executed in the days following the ISIS attack, with the rest left dying on Sinjar Mountain from injuries, starvation, or dehydration. “
What happened in that month was beyond anything the Yazidis faced they were going to annihilated from the face of the earth but thanks to US air force and Kurdish fighters who saved them in last moments and also thanks to men who fought Siba Sheikheder which is the closest Yazidi town to Syria they fought ISIS for six hours with only basic guns and klashinkov but these six hours did provide cover for a lot of people to run and save their lives .
Since Yazidi faced many genocides in their life most of the women had heard and learned many lessons from their grandmothers on how to fight back and resist against their captors which include putting ash on their face and cutting their hair short so they don’t look appealing to their captors.
What happened later is tragedies that no pen can give it due and somehow I feel guilt since it is people from my faith who have been so monstrous and cruel to this people.
Honor Killing
In land where men honor is more important than women live many women usually killed themselves after the rape because of the shame but thanks to the enlightened religious leader of the yazidi have issued a decree to accept the returning women who have been slaved and forcefully converted to Islam and to not shame them.
all i can say although Humans may progress economically,politically but somehow when it comes to morals and ethics our progress is slow and can be easily turned back
Every evening after evening prayer I usually go to Cafeteria where we usually play Chess and gossip about politics and in going to Cafeteria I pass near Large Mosques wherein the evening they usually give religious sermons in the night.
I don’t know what stopped me that night but in one mosques they were giving sermons and subject was ethic of Slavery and how you treat your slaves more Humanly, I don’t why will some people waste their time listening to this rubbish and since listening more to that sermon made feel revulsion and disgust
Revulsion for still in 21 century there are still people believe in slaving people.
But what happens when people took their faith too seriously and obediently believe everything there and follow them blindly here comes this important book, with ash on their face by the British journalist Cathy Otten.
It fallows the Yazidi genocide in August 2014 when ISIS stormed Yazidi towns and villages in Sinjar Mountain.
“ Yazidi are a majority-Kurdish-speaking religious group living mostly in northern Iraq and numbering less than one million worldwide. They worship a single God, believe in reincarnation, and revere the peacock angel, known as Melek Tawuse, as God’s representative on earth. The peacock angel was often miscast as the devil of other religions, which resulted in the Yezidis, throughout their history, being persecuted as infidels by Muslim rulers who demanded they convert. “
In 2014 ISIS jihadist has embarked in genocidal compaign in which they tried to exterminate Yazidi people and faith from the face of earth by killing their men and enslaving their women and children.
“An estimated 6,383 Yezidis—mostly women and children—were enslaved and transported to ISIS prisons, military training camps, and the homes of fighters across eastern Syria and western Iraq, where they were raped, beaten, sold, and locked away. By mid-2016, 2,590 women and children had escaped or been smuggled out of the caliphate and 3,793 remained in captivity. 2 Around three thousand Yezidis were killed, half executed in the days following the ISIS attack, with the rest left dying on Sinjar Mountain from injuries, starvation, or dehydration. “
What happened in that month was beyond anything the Yazidis faced they were going to annihilated from the face of the earth but thanks to US air force and Kurdish fighters who saved them in last moments and also thanks to men who fought Siba Sheikheder which is the closest Yazidi town to Syria they fought ISIS for six hours with only basic guns and klashinkov but these six hours did provide cover for a lot of people to run and save their lives .
Since Yazidi faced many genocides in their life most of the women had heard and learned many lessons from their grandmothers on how to fight back and resist against their captors which include putting ash on their face and cutting their hair short so they don’t look appealing to their captors.
What happened later is tragedies that no pen can give it due and somehow I feel guilt since it is people from my faith who have been so monstrous and cruel to this people.
Honor Killing
In land where men honor is more important than women live many women usually killed themselves after the rape because of the shame but thanks to the enlightened religious leader of the yazidi have issued a decree to accept the returning women who have been slaved and forcefully converted to Islam and to not shame them.
all i can say although Humans may progress economically,politically but somehow when it comes to morals and ethics our progress is slow and can be easily turned back
February 2, 2018
This book could have been much better if the author knew how to sequence the events better than she did. Many events are repeated many times, it becomes super confusing at many points. Some books take you back in time and maybe forward in time then it all makes sense in the end. This book has failed to do that. I like the second chapter the most because it made most sense to me. These stories need to be told by somebody, i thank the author for taking the time to do so.
November 13, 2019
This book is the heart wrenching account of women who suffered in the hands of heinous ISIS members by author Cathy Otten ..In 2014 this terrorist group attacked Syria and devasted humanity by separating families. They sold yazidi women like cattles and killed men of the family. Yeizidis were not considered humans. The account of various women like Leila ,Nadima who were ordinary localites like you and I , celebrating normal life being daughters , wives ,sisters were kidnapped , sold multiple times to different people , raped a hundred times.All because of the greed of power , religion and for heaven.. They lived in constant fear , they lost their sanity sometimes , their cousins , daughters were made to get separated by the same rules . If someone got caught while trials of escape they were gang raped , bitten almost to death , starved heavily and many were burnt to death . How the women tried to save the last path to their homes secretely , the way they tried to save their babies , Hide from the guards , thinking all day the ways to escape was really disturbing to even think. A life with constant brewing fear is no life.
Kept captive for months ,not feed any food , the stories bring goosebumps on reading but how strange to think they actually happened in reality . Political disturbances mixed with religious fanatism that preached about pure heaven actually brought Hell to Earth , that brought the Zarqiwa , the horrendous beheader shown in the viral cruel video of ISIS became famous was a gruesome phase on this Earth.
If you have read A thousand Splendid suns, You must pick this book up .That booknwas about domestic violence in Afghanistan. This book is in depth account of the women who actually were in the captivity , who were sex slaves , they saw all with their own eyes . These few innocents now live with the bloodfilled memories of their lost loved ones and bone chilling images of the evils that tortured them day and night .
Kept captive for months ,not feed any food , the stories bring goosebumps on reading but how strange to think they actually happened in reality . Political disturbances mixed with religious fanatism that preached about pure heaven actually brought Hell to Earth , that brought the Zarqiwa , the horrendous beheader shown in the viral cruel video of ISIS became famous was a gruesome phase on this Earth.
If you have read A thousand Splendid suns, You must pick this book up .That booknwas about domestic violence in Afghanistan. This book is in depth account of the women who actually were in the captivity , who were sex slaves , they saw all with their own eyes . These few innocents now live with the bloodfilled memories of their lost loved ones and bone chilling images of the evils that tortured them day and night .
November 25, 2019
With Ash on Their Faces by Cathy Otten is a hard hitting recounting of the tragedies that occurred in 2014 when the ISIS attacked the Yezidi population in Northern Iraq. The author is a journalist who was posted there for 4 years.
I not only reviewed and loved this non-fiction book but as you may have noticed, it has also made it to the Book Vue Recommended list. Now that is a first.
Summary
The book begins with an introduction by the author about the state of people in Northern Iraq. Cathy Otten doesn’t waste time getting to the point hence the book is blunt right from the start. The ISIS regime is known to be cruel but with this book the details that come out are simply tragic.
The author interviewed the survivors of the tragedy and has recorded, with stark transparency, the horrors they endured.
What I Liked
I couldn’t put the book down. To put it bluntly, it is a hard hitting narrative. The intensity with which the author moves from one atrocity to another is applause worthy because it takes courage to relive and write these events with such clarity.
This book contains pages and pages of the gruesome and tragic tales of the ISIS doings. The likes of rape, abduction, captivity, and murder. But the true horror doesn’t lie in the fact that that the Yezidi women had to endure it all. It lies in the shocking fact that they still do, today.
What I Did Not Like
If you can’t bear reading about such events, then probably this book isn’t for you. It is not for the faint of heart.
Other Details
You know how we read or see the news and then forget about it all. This is exactly why such books are needed. The headlines move on and so do we but these stories need to be told.
Would I Recommend It?
Of course. All of us should read this book to remind ourselves about the atrocities carried on by the ISIS and to ask ourselves, when will we allow this to stop?
I not only reviewed and loved this non-fiction book but as you may have noticed, it has also made it to the Book Vue Recommended list. Now that is a first.
Summary
The book begins with an introduction by the author about the state of people in Northern Iraq. Cathy Otten doesn’t waste time getting to the point hence the book is blunt right from the start. The ISIS regime is known to be cruel but with this book the details that come out are simply tragic.
The author interviewed the survivors of the tragedy and has recorded, with stark transparency, the horrors they endured.
What I Liked
I couldn’t put the book down. To put it bluntly, it is a hard hitting narrative. The intensity with which the author moves from one atrocity to another is applause worthy because it takes courage to relive and write these events with such clarity.
This book contains pages and pages of the gruesome and tragic tales of the ISIS doings. The likes of rape, abduction, captivity, and murder. But the true horror doesn’t lie in the fact that that the Yezidi women had to endure it all. It lies in the shocking fact that they still do, today.
What I Did Not Like
If you can’t bear reading about such events, then probably this book isn’t for you. It is not for the faint of heart.
Other Details
You know how we read or see the news and then forget about it all. This is exactly why such books are needed. The headlines move on and so do we but these stories need to be told.
Would I Recommend It?
Of course. All of us should read this book to remind ourselves about the atrocities carried on by the ISIS and to ask ourselves, when will we allow this to stop?
July 25, 2019
Just finished reading "With Ash on their Faces" by Cathy Otten. Here's my quick review:
"With Ash on Their Faces: Yezidi Women and the Islamic State" is one of those rare books that reveals new information for long-time specialists while opening up Iraq up to a far wider audience. Cathy Otten captures the stories of dozens of Yezidi survivors and weaves their stories together into a compelling chronicle of genocide and abandonment by the international community.
Cathy's eloquent writing captures the utter cruelty and banality of evil, without sensationalizing it. She respects and honors the survivors as complete individuals with lives and histories, sharing their struggles and acts of resistance. And as a professional journalist who has lived in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq for years, Cathy reveals the context from which ISIS sprang forth, and how a series of missteps (particularly by the U.S. and Iraq's Green Zone politicians) led to the genocide.
If you are interested in learning more about Iraq, the Yezidis, and the nature of genocide, this is the book to read. "With Ash on their Faces" speaks directly to the reader through the timely, insistent voices of women who demand that we see the world differently and do something about it.
"With Ash on Their Faces: Yezidi Women and the Islamic State" is one of those rare books that reveals new information for long-time specialists while opening up Iraq up to a far wider audience. Cathy Otten captures the stories of dozens of Yezidi survivors and weaves their stories together into a compelling chronicle of genocide and abandonment by the international community.
Cathy's eloquent writing captures the utter cruelty and banality of evil, without sensationalizing it. She respects and honors the survivors as complete individuals with lives and histories, sharing their struggles and acts of resistance. And as a professional journalist who has lived in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq for years, Cathy reveals the context from which ISIS sprang forth, and how a series of missteps (particularly by the U.S. and Iraq's Green Zone politicians) led to the genocide.
If you are interested in learning more about Iraq, the Yezidis, and the nature of genocide, this is the book to read. "With Ash on their Faces" speaks directly to the reader through the timely, insistent voices of women who demand that we see the world differently and do something about it.
July 11, 2022
Very well-written and informative and super sad.
May 21, 2025
Cathy Otten has done a remarkable job by bringing forth the experience that she documented by hearing and watching as many women as she could who were the survivors of not just sexual assault but ethnic cleansing. While her trip to Iraqi Kurdistan she had interviewed more than hundreds of girls and what she revealed by this book is beyond imagination. War torn Iraq that America created and left as is by spoiling the whole country gave birth to ISIS/ISIL. Wherever US entered, they never won the wars but as repercussions to that failure, they ruined that nation. Be it Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan. One such anecdote of mishandling or say intentional acts to destroy the erstwhile situation of that region, tells the tale of how the power to rule with business of weapons by one nation can spoil any country and even eradicate the essence of the culture their people/citizens prone on following since ages. However, any of that act never voiced for atrocities on women. All the wars at some level or even worse affected females the most.
We all knew how crumbled this society is under Islamic rules all over the world but even then, to learn about the treatment that Yezidis getting from Islamic terror group in Kurdistan, shivered body and mind completely. The references that author put forth from the Islamic religious books and from the verbal accounts of those oppressors were far ahead of civilized world in terms of the thoughts that are still prolonged as same as those were during Mohammad’s time.
Here I’m quoting few such instances from book:-
ISIS’ own documents acknowledge that this was their aim. The pamphlet said:
• “For God has struck the disbelievers who have violated the command of God… and among the sins of this humiliation imposed on them is the captivity and enslavement of their women and the permissibility of their genitals. And this is an objective in angering and psychologically vanquishing the disbelievers when they see their honor as captives among the people of Islam, and it is of disgrace for them.”
The author of the Dabiq article writes that if the slave becomes a believer she should be freed. But the idea of showing mercy to the enslaved women was not carried out in practice.
• … It is permissible to have a sex with a slave before puberty “if she is fit for intercourse, however, if she is not fit for intercourse, then it is enough to enjoy her without intercourse.”
• “The selection of any girl was accompanied by screaming as she was forcibly pulled from the room, with her mother and any other women who tried to keep hold of her being brutally beaten by fighters. [Yezidis] women and girls began to scratch and bloody themselves in an attempt to make themselves unattractive to potential buyers.”
• An Islamic pamphlet on slavery states:
“It is not allowed to lie carnally them or enjoy them simply for being sabi [captive], but also the Imam must take divisions to among them [and thus] if they are allowed to be taken as slave girls, the possessions of one’s right hand, then one can lie carnally with them according to Shari’i [Islamic law] conditions.
• He accused her of lying about her virginity, and, as punishment, sent three ISIS guards to gang rape her. …. he (Shakir) planned to sell her (Leila’s) niece. He could get $1500 for her. …The next day, he ordered two foreign fighters, one French, the other Japanese, to gang rape her. It was the holy month of Ramadan, and Leila was fasting during daylight hours. After the attack Leila was in considerable pain and continued to bleed for the next two weeks.
Leila asked Shakir if she could see a doctor because of the bleeding, but he told her no, the injury was part of her punishment for trying to run away. At the base he gave her daily contraceptive pills. When they made her throw up, he switched to giving her contraceptive injections instead.
So, above all are the wordings of Cathy from her book, which she catalogued as a part of teachings under Islam, especially when it comes to them being in power. This is not just about some Leila, Zahra or anyone else, the condition of women in Islam that too in Islamic regimes or country is way to worse. While writing this review, I got one news from Pakistan where a former Pakistani lawmaker Shandana Gulzar Khan revealed “More than 82% of rapists are fathers or bothers of victims in Pakistan. Family members also include fathers, brothers, grandfathers and uncles.” She said, ‘Girl do not even approach the police’.
Story of Yezidis given by author is with deft and detailed in this revealing account of suffering, endurance and survival. She interlaces the ages old ill practice in Islam with its presence in more brutal manner in 21st century as well. Each testimony she incorporated in this anthology of interviews of ISIS’s female victims having no delicacy or sensationalism.
We all knew how crumbled this society is under Islamic rules all over the world but even then, to learn about the treatment that Yezidis getting from Islamic terror group in Kurdistan, shivered body and mind completely. The references that author put forth from the Islamic religious books and from the verbal accounts of those oppressors were far ahead of civilized world in terms of the thoughts that are still prolonged as same as those were during Mohammad’s time.
Here I’m quoting few such instances from book:-
ISIS’ own documents acknowledge that this was their aim. The pamphlet said:
• “For God has struck the disbelievers who have violated the command of God… and among the sins of this humiliation imposed on them is the captivity and enslavement of their women and the permissibility of their genitals. And this is an objective in angering and psychologically vanquishing the disbelievers when they see their honor as captives among the people of Islam, and it is of disgrace for them.”
The author of the Dabiq article writes that if the slave becomes a believer she should be freed. But the idea of showing mercy to the enslaved women was not carried out in practice.
• … It is permissible to have a sex with a slave before puberty “if she is fit for intercourse, however, if she is not fit for intercourse, then it is enough to enjoy her without intercourse.”
• “The selection of any girl was accompanied by screaming as she was forcibly pulled from the room, with her mother and any other women who tried to keep hold of her being brutally beaten by fighters. [Yezidis] women and girls began to scratch and bloody themselves in an attempt to make themselves unattractive to potential buyers.”
• An Islamic pamphlet on slavery states:
“It is not allowed to lie carnally them or enjoy them simply for being sabi [captive], but also the Imam must take divisions to among them [and thus] if they are allowed to be taken as slave girls, the possessions of one’s right hand, then one can lie carnally with them according to Shari’i [Islamic law] conditions.
• He accused her of lying about her virginity, and, as punishment, sent three ISIS guards to gang rape her. …. he (Shakir) planned to sell her (Leila’s) niece. He could get $1500 for her. …The next day, he ordered two foreign fighters, one French, the other Japanese, to gang rape her. It was the holy month of Ramadan, and Leila was fasting during daylight hours. After the attack Leila was in considerable pain and continued to bleed for the next two weeks.
Leila asked Shakir if she could see a doctor because of the bleeding, but he told her no, the injury was part of her punishment for trying to run away. At the base he gave her daily contraceptive pills. When they made her throw up, he switched to giving her contraceptive injections instead.
So, above all are the wordings of Cathy from her book, which she catalogued as a part of teachings under Islam, especially when it comes to them being in power. This is not just about some Leila, Zahra or anyone else, the condition of women in Islam that too in Islamic regimes or country is way to worse. While writing this review, I got one news from Pakistan where a former Pakistani lawmaker Shandana Gulzar Khan revealed “More than 82% of rapists are fathers or bothers of victims in Pakistan. Family members also include fathers, brothers, grandfathers and uncles.” She said, ‘Girl do not even approach the police’.
Story of Yezidis given by author is with deft and detailed in this revealing account of suffering, endurance and survival. She interlaces the ages old ill practice in Islam with its presence in more brutal manner in 21st century as well. Each testimony she incorporated in this anthology of interviews of ISIS’s female victims having no delicacy or sensationalism.
November 7, 2019
This book is a first hand account of what is happening in the war-torn areas of Iran, Iraq, Syria and the surrounding areas. Cathy Otten has done her best by recreating the stark reality through her book in the form of short stories. She has reproduced the incidents which she had come across during her career in journalism. Hailing from Britain, she is based in Iraqi, Kurdistan and has come across some of the reckless, frightening and harrowing events and experiences.
There are many books written about wars and the after effects. These were mostly based on African nation or elsewhere but for the first time, probably, a detailed account has been created/documented about the happenings in Kurdistan where the war is a daily affair.
I felt sorry for the characters – the names were changed since it might intrude on the privacy of the real ones. The bad state of the people would bring tears in your eyes for sure. There isn’t one but there are hundreds and thousands. We were given to read about a few only but this is itself is a conclusive proof about the sheer brutality of the organization which has unleashed horrifying experience over the set of people.
The book mainly focuses on Yezidi people who were dislodged due to the ongoing war in most of the affected areas which has seen them being diminished as they lost their fortune and belongings. Most importantly, many of them had even lost their identity. Some were forced to convert to Islam. They aren’t the only ones who got affected but also the Kurds and the other public in general. Others weren’t affected as much as Yezidis which I am not sure whether it is a curse of being born there or born in as a Yezidi.
Human trafficking is at the peak especially in areas like these. Women gets kidnapped and even the official account puts it up as high as 3,000+. Men were murdered. Kids were tortured. This would make you think whether we live in a barbaric world? We might also be wondering what is UN and Human Rights Organization is doing when it comes to drastic situations like these.
Each and every chapter is a powerful record of the reality which is intense and yes, it is appealing and most importantly would surely make you to pray for the people who are affected…..
There are many books written about wars and the after effects. These were mostly based on African nation or elsewhere but for the first time, probably, a detailed account has been created/documented about the happenings in Kurdistan where the war is a daily affair.
I felt sorry for the characters – the names were changed since it might intrude on the privacy of the real ones. The bad state of the people would bring tears in your eyes for sure. There isn’t one but there are hundreds and thousands. We were given to read about a few only but this is itself is a conclusive proof about the sheer brutality of the organization which has unleashed horrifying experience over the set of people.
The book mainly focuses on Yezidi people who were dislodged due to the ongoing war in most of the affected areas which has seen them being diminished as they lost their fortune and belongings. Most importantly, many of them had even lost their identity. Some were forced to convert to Islam. They aren’t the only ones who got affected but also the Kurds and the other public in general. Others weren’t affected as much as Yezidis which I am not sure whether it is a curse of being born there or born in as a Yezidi.
Human trafficking is at the peak especially in areas like these. Women gets kidnapped and even the official account puts it up as high as 3,000+. Men were murdered. Kids were tortured. This would make you think whether we live in a barbaric world? We might also be wondering what is UN and Human Rights Organization is doing when it comes to drastic situations like these.
Each and every chapter is a powerful record of the reality which is intense and yes, it is appealing and most importantly would surely make you to pray for the people who are affected…..
November 19, 2020
God witnessed this tragedy,
the stunned moon witnessed it,
the lithe xerophytes witnessed it,
the salty warm dark soil witnessed it,
the hot golden noon witnessed it,
the burned houses, the dead bodies,
the dusty air, the blood's smell,
and the sunbeams witnessed it.
But, none dared to prevent it.
I did not: coward, feeble, poor sister.
- Nawaf Ashur, "Five Sisters".
While I write this review, the realisation starts to crumble me into pieces; that humanity is lost. After I finished this book, I was lost in my world thinking how appalling the savagery of the Islamic State was when they were gaining strength on the streets of Iraq & Syria and was rapidly expanding their territory. Butchering thousands of innocent civilians in their way, whom they only see as obstacles, not humans. The worst brunt of the genocide was borne by the Yezidi population in the Sinjar Mountains. Their men were slaughtered, while the women and children were taken as sex slaves and potential young recruits for their cause. ISIS persecuted anyone who dared stand in the way of establishing The Caliphate. And people from different faiths needed to be subjugated and converted or eliminated. Innocents were killed because of their religion and ethnicity; something everyone is born with.
This is a brilliant journalistic account, that documents the systematic violence towards the ethnic minorities and especially Yezidi women. The tales are heart-wrenching and leaves you empty inside. It's written by Cathy Otten, a British writer and journalist who chose to stay in Iraqi Kurdistan. She meticulously crafted this book by interviewing hundreds of ISIS survivors, who have their own horrifying stories to tell.
All I want to say is, read this one. I'm still reeling from it.
-Anshula
@thebookishlawyer (IG)
the stunned moon witnessed it,
the lithe xerophytes witnessed it,
the salty warm dark soil witnessed it,
the hot golden noon witnessed it,
the burned houses, the dead bodies,
the dusty air, the blood's smell,
and the sunbeams witnessed it.
But, none dared to prevent it.
I did not: coward, feeble, poor sister.
- Nawaf Ashur, "Five Sisters".
While I write this review, the realisation starts to crumble me into pieces; that humanity is lost. After I finished this book, I was lost in my world thinking how appalling the savagery of the Islamic State was when they were gaining strength on the streets of Iraq & Syria and was rapidly expanding their territory. Butchering thousands of innocent civilians in their way, whom they only see as obstacles, not humans. The worst brunt of the genocide was borne by the Yezidi population in the Sinjar Mountains. Their men were slaughtered, while the women and children were taken as sex slaves and potential young recruits for their cause. ISIS persecuted anyone who dared stand in the way of establishing The Caliphate. And people from different faiths needed to be subjugated and converted or eliminated. Innocents were killed because of their religion and ethnicity; something everyone is born with.
This is a brilliant journalistic account, that documents the systematic violence towards the ethnic minorities and especially Yezidi women. The tales are heart-wrenching and leaves you empty inside. It's written by Cathy Otten, a British writer and journalist who chose to stay in Iraqi Kurdistan. She meticulously crafted this book by interviewing hundreds of ISIS survivors, who have their own horrifying stories to tell.
All I want to say is, read this one. I'm still reeling from it.
-Anshula
@thebookishlawyer (IG)
August 24, 2018
A pivotal flaw in Cathy Otten's otherwise scathing account for OR Books, With Ash on their Faces, is the imposition of her background and upbringing upon her journalistic assessment of a highly complex and polarised unfolding human horror.
Even as I write this, the renowned international human rights lawyer Amal Clooney has just announced the reinvigoration of her campaign involving the United Nations - and its members including Iraq - against the atrocities still being suffered by the "Yazidi people as survivors of Islamic State war crimes." Clooney has been raising awareness of
these outrageous events for several years on the international stage. It's difficult to understand why her work wasn't considered in even a footnote of Otten's book.
Make no mistake - Otten's well-resourced reportage of Kurdistan's beleaguered religious and ethnic minority Yezidi people provides an important record for any future they may have. Recycling her many articles about the complex changing fortunes of the region, including disturbing interviews with those directly affected, has allowed her a
unique insight into the see-saw of power controlled by national governments and regional factions alike.
What doesn't quite work is that tricky matter of focus. Her reports remain just that, producing an almost aleatory structure of her story, as opposed to that of the Yezidis. The book is tagged with the sub-title "Yezidi women and the Islamic State." It almost goes without saying that the treatment by ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and Syria] of
its captors offends the very notion of humanity.
The title itself is meant to deepen our understanding of the intensity of the women's resistance, given their impotence as kidnapped slaves. Rubbing ash over their faces was meant to put off their captors who use rape as a weapon.
That Otten has chosen to highlight both the plight and courageous tactics of women in particular is admirable, especially given their perception as social inferiors. But the focus of her narrative blurs the message because it makes assumptions about its readership.
What's unclear is the level of prior interest and information anyone may bring to the subject. If I'm as typical as most, that wouldn't be all that much. Of course, as a responsible cultural analyst I've heard news reports over the past few years, and read the odd article about Yezidi, Christian and other ethnic abuse by Islamic State. Though I'm very pleased to get the opportunity to learn more from someone who's dedicated much of her life to an intimate understanding of the issues, Otten's presentation leaves me feeling I've read a kind of dissertation whose every reference I need to re-visit before moving on.
She's so tethered to a visceral as well as an intellectual understanding. My reading experience feels like trying to grab handfuls of slippy mercury, the facts falling into mud underfoot.
Even the use of Otten's spelling is confusing. She refers throughout to "Yezidis", when nearly every other reference cites the ethnic minority as "Yazidi"... as per Amal Clooney, and press articles by such as Raya Jalabi and Emma Graham-Harrison, all equally immersed in the evolution of their socio-political journey.
The difference between the accounts of specific incidents detailed in a single article and the continuity required for an entire book depends most of all on structure and the intended readership. Where Otten succeeds is presenting the blanket of loyalty which comforts every one of the victims of ISIS brutality. But it's a patchwork affair.
Whether her blanket covers the male survivors who have given themselves the freedom to reveal to Otten the horror of their individual journey, or her reports on the degrees of abuse meted out by various factions to Yezidi women, young and old, as well as their children, the book is not structured as a driving narrative. The effect on the uninformed reader is a confusing bombardment of incidents. And, because there's neither a chronological direction of travel, nor a focus on just one or two main characters, those incidents unwittingly become a list rather than story.
Sadly, such a repetitive reportage amid such minimal context can prove counter-productive. It's perfectly understandable why Otten has referred to the women survivors by false names, and why the descriptions of their homes and places both of torture and safety are minimal. But it's a choice that she cannot sustain, and we're left with too many questions unanswered. Perhaps the most elusive is her reluctance to reveal very much about herself. That heightens the isolation we feel as readers... not much distinction between the main characters within a context that cannot even be anchored to the persona of the author.
Of course, if Otten's book is meant for a more specific audience, one already familiar with the changing landscape of the troubled borderlands of Kurdistan, Turkey, Iraq, and Syria, then many of the references will make more sense. Though I suspect the litany of year-on-year abuse will be preaching to the converted.
As it is, the book reads too much like a collection and distillation of her various articles over the years. It needs the focus of fiction, where one character takes on the persona of many, their tragic abuse and eventual escape conflated into a story which even uninformed readers can identify with.
I wish Otten had borrowed Amal Clooney's strategy for the press, for the United Nations, and for the courts of law she addresses. It's built around her Yazidi client Nadia Murad, whose abuse as a kidnapped woman sold into serial slavery for sex and household drudgery, represents others with similar stories. It allows Clooney to demonstrate the complexities of their horrid mistreatment without equivocation. And it frees her as their champion to become an even more effective critic of their criminal abusers.
In other words, she exploits the extrapolation from the one to the many, hewing a path we can follow, though it leads to dark places indeed.
Even as I write this, the renowned international human rights lawyer Amal Clooney has just announced the reinvigoration of her campaign involving the United Nations - and its members including Iraq - against the atrocities still being suffered by the "Yazidi people as survivors of Islamic State war crimes." Clooney has been raising awareness of
these outrageous events for several years on the international stage. It's difficult to understand why her work wasn't considered in even a footnote of Otten's book.
Make no mistake - Otten's well-resourced reportage of Kurdistan's beleaguered religious and ethnic minority Yezidi people provides an important record for any future they may have. Recycling her many articles about the complex changing fortunes of the region, including disturbing interviews with those directly affected, has allowed her a
unique insight into the see-saw of power controlled by national governments and regional factions alike.
What doesn't quite work is that tricky matter of focus. Her reports remain just that, producing an almost aleatory structure of her story, as opposed to that of the Yezidis. The book is tagged with the sub-title "Yezidi women and the Islamic State." It almost goes without saying that the treatment by ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and Syria] of
its captors offends the very notion of humanity.
The title itself is meant to deepen our understanding of the intensity of the women's resistance, given their impotence as kidnapped slaves. Rubbing ash over their faces was meant to put off their captors who use rape as a weapon.
That Otten has chosen to highlight both the plight and courageous tactics of women in particular is admirable, especially given their perception as social inferiors. But the focus of her narrative blurs the message because it makes assumptions about its readership.
What's unclear is the level of prior interest and information anyone may bring to the subject. If I'm as typical as most, that wouldn't be all that much. Of course, as a responsible cultural analyst I've heard news reports over the past few years, and read the odd article about Yezidi, Christian and other ethnic abuse by Islamic State. Though I'm very pleased to get the opportunity to learn more from someone who's dedicated much of her life to an intimate understanding of the issues, Otten's presentation leaves me feeling I've read a kind of dissertation whose every reference I need to re-visit before moving on.
She's so tethered to a visceral as well as an intellectual understanding. My reading experience feels like trying to grab handfuls of slippy mercury, the facts falling into mud underfoot.
Even the use of Otten's spelling is confusing. She refers throughout to "Yezidis", when nearly every other reference cites the ethnic minority as "Yazidi"... as per Amal Clooney, and press articles by such as Raya Jalabi and Emma Graham-Harrison, all equally immersed in the evolution of their socio-political journey.
The difference between the accounts of specific incidents detailed in a single article and the continuity required for an entire book depends most of all on structure and the intended readership. Where Otten succeeds is presenting the blanket of loyalty which comforts every one of the victims of ISIS brutality. But it's a patchwork affair.
Whether her blanket covers the male survivors who have given themselves the freedom to reveal to Otten the horror of their individual journey, or her reports on the degrees of abuse meted out by various factions to Yezidi women, young and old, as well as their children, the book is not structured as a driving narrative. The effect on the uninformed reader is a confusing bombardment of incidents. And, because there's neither a chronological direction of travel, nor a focus on just one or two main characters, those incidents unwittingly become a list rather than story.
Sadly, such a repetitive reportage amid such minimal context can prove counter-productive. It's perfectly understandable why Otten has referred to the women survivors by false names, and why the descriptions of their homes and places both of torture and safety are minimal. But it's a choice that she cannot sustain, and we're left with too many questions unanswered. Perhaps the most elusive is her reluctance to reveal very much about herself. That heightens the isolation we feel as readers... not much distinction between the main characters within a context that cannot even be anchored to the persona of the author.
Of course, if Otten's book is meant for a more specific audience, one already familiar with the changing landscape of the troubled borderlands of Kurdistan, Turkey, Iraq, and Syria, then many of the references will make more sense. Though I suspect the litany of year-on-year abuse will be preaching to the converted.
As it is, the book reads too much like a collection and distillation of her various articles over the years. It needs the focus of fiction, where one character takes on the persona of many, their tragic abuse and eventual escape conflated into a story which even uninformed readers can identify with.
I wish Otten had borrowed Amal Clooney's strategy for the press, for the United Nations, and for the courts of law she addresses. It's built around her Yazidi client Nadia Murad, whose abuse as a kidnapped woman sold into serial slavery for sex and household drudgery, represents others with similar stories. It allows Clooney to demonstrate the complexities of their horrid mistreatment without equivocation. And it frees her as their champion to become an even more effective critic of their criminal abusers.
In other words, she exploits the extrapolation from the one to the many, hewing a path we can follow, though it leads to dark places indeed.
January 10, 2018
I think these stories absolutely needed to be told, but the way in which they were told within the narrative of the overall invasion and drive out of ISIS forces from Sinjar was confusing and even repetitive at times (some events were recounted multiple times with no acknowledgment that the author had already written about it).
February 26, 2025
This should be a required read.
March 25, 2019
Steadfast and incredibly moving account of ISIS's horrific genocidal attack on the Yezidis. It will bring you to tears, outraged and wondering why you've done so little to know more.
May 20, 2024
With Ash on Their Faces: Yezidi Women and the Islamic State by Cathy Otten is an investigative biography detailing the horrors the Yezidi community has experienced under ISIS, with an emphasis on the abuse the Yezidi women have faced. The book is separated into four parts, with Yezidi men and women voicing their tragedies and resilience. Part 1: The Fall of Sinjar paints the gruesome reality of how Sinjar fell to ISIS, alongside the inner conflicts that allowed the terrorists to gain control in just one morning. Part II: The Women of Kojo represent the Yezidi who were forcibly converted and the women who were raped and enslaved on a nightly basis. Part III: The Accomplice reveals the betrayals the women experienced when they witnessed fellow neighbors, whom they were once able to rely on, now seeking to continue ISIS's barbarism. Finally, in the Epilogue, despite a precious few members of the community reunited, the Yezidis face a precarious position vulnerable to the whims of politics and prejudice.
I was at a Recycled Reads store in Austin when I encountered this book. I wanted to learn more about the plights of the Middle East. Since my husband and I discussed how ISIS destabilized the region, I saw this book and decided Otten's work would be my first introduction to their difficulties. I picked up the book, paid my dollar, and started reading.
I was not disappointed in the least. Otten's empathy and investigative nature are the primary reasons the accounts are so primally terrifying as they are beautiful. I loved the complexity that Otten exposes through the eyes of Yezidi women, from learning how child soldiers were trained and programmed by both ISIS and the Kurdistan's Worker Party to the complicated relationship that ISIS brides have with the organization themselves. One thing I know is that, despite the brutality of what they faced, the Yezidis never lost their strong sense of honor. Women were willing to sacrifice their own lives if it meant preserving their dignity, whether it be fighting to save themselves or others, rubbing their faces and hair with ash so that they wouldn't be taken by the enemy, scratching and bloodying "themselves in an attempt to make themselves unattractive to [slavers]." At times, they would kill themselves just to avoid the shame of being unable to return to their families.
I was particularly astounded by Leila, a Yezidi woman who, after being bought by her uncle Muhammed, had expected safety. But rather than offer her sanctuary, he sold her again. Perhaps he couldn't deal with the guilt or the fact that he had betrayed his own family to satisfy his sins. Either way, if she ever met him again, if I were in her shoes, I would be more than willing to "let him burn."
Eerily enough, there are parallels from the tragedy of the Yezidi community to other well-known moral massacres humanity habitually partakes in. The younger generation in 2014 was taken by ISIS because they saw the corruption that swept up Iraq. They didn't know what to do and so clung to the only voice of reason at the time. It was similar to how the current American generation feels, especially with the rise in political unrest, economic instability, and social injustice. Moreover, similar to the experiences of Yezidi men and women, during the Atlantic Slave Trade, African slaves were treated little better than cattle. While some may proclaim these injustices were just casualties of war, the same casualties can be seen in the African diaspora. Although the diaspora lasted longer than the catastrophes within the Yezidi, the trauma created will be present throughout future generations.
The Yezidi reminds me of yet another book filled with personal essays about what it meant to live in America as a feminist. When the Yezidi women were targeted, and ISIS attempted to replace their culture with their interpretation of Islam, I harshly remembered the words of one Jennifer Dimarco, since "as a woman, nothing is ever handed to you. You have to fight for everything. And a fighter faces the world head on."
Otten's understanding of the cruelties inflicted on the Yezidi community helps the reader understand the injustices they face and the obstacles they must overcome, psychologically or otherwise. Readers who are interested in learning more about the groups that ISIS has ravaged, as well as the resilience that was cultivated from such trauma. As such, I would give this book a 5 out of 5 stars.
I was at a Recycled Reads store in Austin when I encountered this book. I wanted to learn more about the plights of the Middle East. Since my husband and I discussed how ISIS destabilized the region, I saw this book and decided Otten's work would be my first introduction to their difficulties. I picked up the book, paid my dollar, and started reading.
I was not disappointed in the least. Otten's empathy and investigative nature are the primary reasons the accounts are so primally terrifying as they are beautiful. I loved the complexity that Otten exposes through the eyes of Yezidi women, from learning how child soldiers were trained and programmed by both ISIS and the Kurdistan's Worker Party to the complicated relationship that ISIS brides have with the organization themselves. One thing I know is that, despite the brutality of what they faced, the Yezidis never lost their strong sense of honor. Women were willing to sacrifice their own lives if it meant preserving their dignity, whether it be fighting to save themselves or others, rubbing their faces and hair with ash so that they wouldn't be taken by the enemy, scratching and bloodying "themselves in an attempt to make themselves unattractive to [slavers]." At times, they would kill themselves just to avoid the shame of being unable to return to their families.
I was particularly astounded by Leila, a Yezidi woman who, after being bought by her uncle Muhammed, had expected safety. But rather than offer her sanctuary, he sold her again. Perhaps he couldn't deal with the guilt or the fact that he had betrayed his own family to satisfy his sins. Either way, if she ever met him again, if I were in her shoes, I would be more than willing to "let him burn."
Eerily enough, there are parallels from the tragedy of the Yezidi community to other well-known moral massacres humanity habitually partakes in. The younger generation in 2014 was taken by ISIS because they saw the corruption that swept up Iraq. They didn't know what to do and so clung to the only voice of reason at the time. It was similar to how the current American generation feels, especially with the rise in political unrest, economic instability, and social injustice. Moreover, similar to the experiences of Yezidi men and women, during the Atlantic Slave Trade, African slaves were treated little better than cattle. While some may proclaim these injustices were just casualties of war, the same casualties can be seen in the African diaspora. Although the diaspora lasted longer than the catastrophes within the Yezidi, the trauma created will be present throughout future generations.
The Yezidi reminds me of yet another book filled with personal essays about what it meant to live in America as a feminist. When the Yezidi women were targeted, and ISIS attempted to replace their culture with their interpretation of Islam, I harshly remembered the words of one Jennifer Dimarco, since "as a woman, nothing is ever handed to you. You have to fight for everything. And a fighter faces the world head on."
Otten's understanding of the cruelties inflicted on the Yezidi community helps the reader understand the injustices they face and the obstacles they must overcome, psychologically or otherwise. Readers who are interested in learning more about the groups that ISIS has ravaged, as well as the resilience that was cultivated from such trauma. As such, I would give this book a 5 out of 5 stars.
December 16, 2019
With Ash on Their Faces: Yezidi Women and the Islamic State by Cathy Otten is one of the best books that I have read this year. This book is based on extensive interviews with survivors of the Yezidi population. It is a work of extreme research and analysis. It highlights and brings forward the reality of the war-torn areas of Iraq. ISIS's genocidal attack on the Yezidi population of northern Iraq in the summer of 2014 brought the world's attention to the followers of faith with a long history of persecution. Men were killed, and the Yezidi women were taken to the Islamic state to be sold.
This book narrates the plight of Yezidi women and children.
Who are the Yezidis? Yazidis are an endogamous and mostly Kurmanji-speaking group of contested ethnic origin, indigenous to Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. The majority of Yazidis remaining in the Middle East today live in Iraq, primarily in the Nineveh and Dohuk governorates.
In August 2014, the Yazidis became victims of genocide by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in its campaign to rid Iraq and its neighbouring countries of non-Islamic influences (Source: Wikipedia).
With Ash on Their Faces presents a unique and profoundly moving account of the privations and resistance of those enslaved by a monstrous regime. The real-life accounts of the Yezidi women are heart-wrenching. The author has done some extensive research and presented a first-hand reporting of the pathetic condition of the Yezidi population. But the author has not just portrayed their difficulties and the constant turmoil that they are a part of, she also describes how brave and courageous these women are.
This book is extremely informative. The society needs more books like this so that people get to know what is going on around them in the world. The headlines of newspapers move on after a few days of hue and cry, and so does the issue from the minds of the people. But the people who are the victims- their trouble persists. They continue to live their lives under constant fear and pressure. The account of the various Yezidi women like Leila, Nadima (names have been changed) gives the readers goosebumps and is shocking. Tears welled up in my eyes as I read them.
The author has done a commendable job in bringing forth an issue like this. Her narrative style is informative and detailed. This book has had a huge impact on me.
The world needs peace and not war. This needs to be understood by people. One cannot even imagine how devastating war can be. We need to do away with all the hatred. Only peace can bring prosperity.
I absolutely recommend this book to everyone. It is a must-read!
This book narrates the plight of Yezidi women and children.
Who are the Yezidis? Yazidis are an endogamous and mostly Kurmanji-speaking group of contested ethnic origin, indigenous to Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. The majority of Yazidis remaining in the Middle East today live in Iraq, primarily in the Nineveh and Dohuk governorates.
In August 2014, the Yazidis became victims of genocide by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in its campaign to rid Iraq and its neighbouring countries of non-Islamic influences (Source: Wikipedia).
With Ash on Their Faces presents a unique and profoundly moving account of the privations and resistance of those enslaved by a monstrous regime. The real-life accounts of the Yezidi women are heart-wrenching. The author has done some extensive research and presented a first-hand reporting of the pathetic condition of the Yezidi population. But the author has not just portrayed their difficulties and the constant turmoil that they are a part of, she also describes how brave and courageous these women are.
This book is extremely informative. The society needs more books like this so that people get to know what is going on around them in the world. The headlines of newspapers move on after a few days of hue and cry, and so does the issue from the minds of the people. But the people who are the victims- their trouble persists. They continue to live their lives under constant fear and pressure. The account of the various Yezidi women like Leila, Nadima (names have been changed) gives the readers goosebumps and is shocking. Tears welled up in my eyes as I read them.
The author has done a commendable job in bringing forth an issue like this. Her narrative style is informative and detailed. This book has had a huge impact on me.
The world needs peace and not war. This needs to be understood by people. One cannot even imagine how devastating war can be. We need to do away with all the hatred. Only peace can bring prosperity.
I absolutely recommend this book to everyone. It is a must-read!
January 3, 2020
It's utterly heart-breaking and it was a real struggle to read this book, With Ash On Their Faces, but it is definitely a book that should be read by everyone. The subject and the content is so important and sheds huge amounts of light on what really does go on in these war zones and behind the scenes of what we hear on the news channels.
Giving the reader a true inside view into what the extremism of ISIS means to the people whose homelands have been desecrated by these terrorists, With Ash On Their Faces by Cathy Otten is a difficult and sinisterly reminiscent read of oppression and genocide.
When you hear emotive headlines in the tabloids about refugees and those fleeing ISIS, it is sobering to read a first-hand account of what these people are fleeing from. A well-written emotional and factual account of atrocities that should not be happening in the twenty-first century. It is near-impossible to review a non-fiction book of this nature for me.
One of the things that struck me about this book was the way it was written. It almost read like a dystopian story book. For this reason, this book is accessible, clear, and easy to follow. I know huge amount about the conflicts of the Middle East when I began this book. However, Author Cathy Otten explains events in a far more understandable way than anything I have heard in mainstream news/media.
After finishing this book, I felt as if a veil has been lifted up from my sight and I became full aware of the calamities that are happening in Riqqa, and other ISIS controlled regions. Reading Cathy Otten's With Ash On Their Faces made me feel two things:
Guilty, for every time I nagged about the electricity shutoffs, or not being able to reunite with my friends and siblings because of work and considered these to be a major crisis.
And angry, for a religion has been wrongly used as a justification for such heretic actions multiple times, when actually that religion does not permit the killing of innocent people.
With Ash On Their Faces by Cathy Otten is a remarkable story of Yezidi women's strength, perseverance, and intelligence, and we should all admire them. However, I think it’s important to remember that there are countless young women who continue to endure immense cruelty on a daily basis. My thoughts are with these young women.
Everybody should read this to gain a better understanding of what is happening in the middle-east while we are all living our comfortable lives.
Giving the reader a true inside view into what the extremism of ISIS means to the people whose homelands have been desecrated by these terrorists, With Ash On Their Faces by Cathy Otten is a difficult and sinisterly reminiscent read of oppression and genocide.
When you hear emotive headlines in the tabloids about refugees and those fleeing ISIS, it is sobering to read a first-hand account of what these people are fleeing from. A well-written emotional and factual account of atrocities that should not be happening in the twenty-first century. It is near-impossible to review a non-fiction book of this nature for me.
One of the things that struck me about this book was the way it was written. It almost read like a dystopian story book. For this reason, this book is accessible, clear, and easy to follow. I know huge amount about the conflicts of the Middle East when I began this book. However, Author Cathy Otten explains events in a far more understandable way than anything I have heard in mainstream news/media.
After finishing this book, I felt as if a veil has been lifted up from my sight and I became full aware of the calamities that are happening in Riqqa, and other ISIS controlled regions. Reading Cathy Otten's With Ash On Their Faces made me feel two things:
Guilty, for every time I nagged about the electricity shutoffs, or not being able to reunite with my friends and siblings because of work and considered these to be a major crisis.
And angry, for a religion has been wrongly used as a justification for such heretic actions multiple times, when actually that religion does not permit the killing of innocent people.
With Ash On Their Faces by Cathy Otten is a remarkable story of Yezidi women's strength, perseverance, and intelligence, and we should all admire them. However, I think it’s important to remember that there are countless young women who continue to endure immense cruelty on a daily basis. My thoughts are with these young women.
Everybody should read this to gain a better understanding of what is happening in the middle-east while we are all living our comfortable lives.
July 22, 2020
Book Review - With Ash on Their Faces by @cathyotten
Publisher - @fingerprintpublishingbooks “He has come to see me so often that I am swollen and I cannot walk,” said a Yezidi woman recounting her life in captivity.
When ISIS took over Iraq, the lives of Yezidis living in the Sinjar district changed forever. Their men were slaughtered and their women were enslaved and became cattle to be sold and sold again and again and again and again…. And even more depressing revelation is the fact that all this is justified by using the holy book.
The title of “With Ash on Their Faces” is inspired by Yezidis’ unfortunate history. To protect themselves from the oppressors, Yezidi women cover their faces with ashes to look unattractive, a tact that has been taught to every Yezidi woman.
This book written by Cathy Otten is the compilation of endless accounts of Yazidi women who were held captive and were sold from one master to another till the time they managed to escape. Accepted back by their community, all they are trying is to cope up with the trauma of unlimited oppression they went through in their time of captivity and the only thing that kept them alive is the hope to escape and come back to their families one day.
This book will make you question everything and while I am writing about this book while sipping my coffee, there is only one thought that comes to mind, how exactly a human mind is wired and how can one be capable of inflicting so much pain to another human being?
This book is brilliantly written and is a must-read for that much-needed dose of reality. I will give an overall rating of 5 to this book. It is a bit heavy on the reading side but it is a good read.
Publisher - @fingerprintpublishingbooks “He has come to see me so often that I am swollen and I cannot walk,” said a Yezidi woman recounting her life in captivity.
When ISIS took over Iraq, the lives of Yezidis living in the Sinjar district changed forever. Their men were slaughtered and their women were enslaved and became cattle to be sold and sold again and again and again and again…. And even more depressing revelation is the fact that all this is justified by using the holy book.
The title of “With Ash on Their Faces” is inspired by Yezidis’ unfortunate history. To protect themselves from the oppressors, Yezidi women cover their faces with ashes to look unattractive, a tact that has been taught to every Yezidi woman.
This book written by Cathy Otten is the compilation of endless accounts of Yazidi women who were held captive and were sold from one master to another till the time they managed to escape. Accepted back by their community, all they are trying is to cope up with the trauma of unlimited oppression they went through in their time of captivity and the only thing that kept them alive is the hope to escape and come back to their families one day.
This book will make you question everything and while I am writing about this book while sipping my coffee, there is only one thought that comes to mind, how exactly a human mind is wired and how can one be capable of inflicting so much pain to another human being?
This book is brilliantly written and is a must-read for that much-needed dose of reality. I will give an overall rating of 5 to this book. It is a bit heavy on the reading side but it is a good read.
December 18, 2024
This was a compelling book. It tells the stories of Yezidi women, thousands of whom were enslaved and kept as sex slaves by ISIS. The accounts are very disturbing!
I thought the book was particularly relevant because of the risk of ISIS reemerging after recent events in Syria. It starts with some background about the Yezidi people, Kurdish history, and political dynamics in the region. This section was useful for understanding the context, even though the timeline could’ve been structured better.
The real gist of the book comes a bit later, where the stories of Yezidi women are told. It was sometimes a bit patchy, but the stories were raw and intense. These women endured unimaginable horrors during ISIS captivity and were treated worse than animals. They were beaten, traded, sold in slave markets and online auctions, and raped, often repeatedly and by multiple men. The title, With Ash on Their Faces, refers to the practice of Yezidi women smearing ash on themselves to appear undesirable and avoid rape. It’s chilling to think this happened just about a decade ago, in the 21st century. And what fueled it all hasn’t gone and is still out there.
What didn’t sit well with me was the author’s effort to distance ISIS’s actions from religious justification. She argued that it was all an interpretation of faith. While it’s true that most followers of the faith today don’t share that perspective, ISIS explicitly cited religious texts to justify their actions. We can acknowledge that not everyone takes those texts literally, and that’s obviously a good thing, but it doesn’t change the source material. The author could’ve focused on the survivors’ stories without veering into apologism.
I thought the book was particularly relevant because of the risk of ISIS reemerging after recent events in Syria. It starts with some background about the Yezidi people, Kurdish history, and political dynamics in the region. This section was useful for understanding the context, even though the timeline could’ve been structured better.
The real gist of the book comes a bit later, where the stories of Yezidi women are told. It was sometimes a bit patchy, but the stories were raw and intense. These women endured unimaginable horrors during ISIS captivity and were treated worse than animals. They were beaten, traded, sold in slave markets and online auctions, and raped, often repeatedly and by multiple men. The title, With Ash on Their Faces, refers to the practice of Yezidi women smearing ash on themselves to appear undesirable and avoid rape. It’s chilling to think this happened just about a decade ago, in the 21st century. And what fueled it all hasn’t gone and is still out there.
What didn’t sit well with me was the author’s effort to distance ISIS’s actions from religious justification. She argued that it was all an interpretation of faith. While it’s true that most followers of the faith today don’t share that perspective, ISIS explicitly cited religious texts to justify their actions. We can acknowledge that not everyone takes those texts literally, and that’s obviously a good thing, but it doesn’t change the source material. The author could’ve focused on the survivors’ stories without veering into apologism.
January 31, 2020
‘With Ash On Their Faces: Yezidi Women and the Islamic State’ by Cathy Otten is a historical account of several Yezidi survivers who suffered odious cruelty in the hands of the ISIS. There is no peace, no freedom and no life for the Yezidis, who were considered as devil worshippers. ISIS’s genocidal attack on the Yezidi population in northern Iraq during the summer of 2014 brought the world’s attention as an entire religion was being terminated from the face of the Earth. Hundreds and thousands of Yezidi men were brutally murdered in the streets, women and children were enslaved and transported to ISIS prisons. There they were raped, beaten up and were even sold in the market like cattle. Their homes were destroyed, leaving them with no choice but to starve on the Sinjar Mountain. Amongst the many Yezidi women who faced brutal torture in the hands of the ISIS, and still came out alive, Cathy Otten captured their life stories and presented in the form of reports in her book.
I appreciate the author for putting forth the stories of these brave women who fought their way out of such cruelty. I however feel that the book could have been sequenced in a better way. I wish there was a back story of a Yezidi family rather than reports of various Yezidi survivors. It kind of became repetitive at times. The book could not make a lasting impact on me as much as it should have considering that the theme of this book was a real strong one.
I appreciate the author for putting forth the stories of these brave women who fought their way out of such cruelty. I however feel that the book could have been sequenced in a better way. I wish there was a back story of a Yezidi family rather than reports of various Yezidi survivors. It kind of became repetitive at times. The book could not make a lasting impact on me as much as it should have considering that the theme of this book was a real strong one.
September 17, 2025
Cathy Otten's With Ash on Their Faces: Yezidi Women and the Islamic State is a profoundly moving and meticulously reported account of one of the most harrowing chapters in modern history—the 2014 ISIS genocide against the Yezidi people in northern Iraq. Drawing from over a hundred interviews with survivors, smugglers, and community members, Otten, a British journalist based in Iraqi Kurdistan, doesn't just document the atrocities; she humanizes them, revealing the unyielding spirit of Yezidi women who have endured centuries of persecution yet continue to resist and rebuild. Otten's prose is clear, compassionate, and free of sensationalism, making the book accessible yet unflinchingly real. It's not an easy read—the details of ISIS's "theory of property" treating women as commodities are gut-wrenching—but it's essential.
October 12, 2020
THis book has given an insight view of what is happening in kurdistan, the geopolitical scenarios and their brutal implication on the region specially the minority yazidis. Good Read though sequencing of events might have been better. Go for it as it can be read in a day or two.
July 5, 2022
Heart wrenching accounts of persecution, helplessness and brutality.
February 10, 2020
With Ash on Their Faces is a work of nonfiction. Journalist Cathy Otten is the author of the book. Otten's work in the Middle East, especially around Syria, Iraq, and the Kurd areas form a strong foundation for this book. The book focuses on the life and culture or Yezidis in the Sinjar region. The exploration that we see in the book unravels a painful narrative as the chapters progress. The first few chapters largely carry out an attempt to locate the locale of action in the book. The chapters that mark the middle part of the book carry out the function of exploring what the title offers. The plight of Yezidi women in the wake of the attack of the ISIS is the major concern of Otten.
The geographical locale where the atrocities of ISIS are committed is northern Iraq. With Ash on Their Faces is written with a journalistic sensibility. Sentimentality is kept at bay while narrating the heartbreaking experiences of many Yezidi women. They endured mass rapes, constitutionalised slavery, and genocide.
The book is written in three parts. The first part is titled "The Fall of Sinjar". This part explains the historicity of the attacks of the ISIS on the people of Iraq. The second part is titled "The Women of Kojo", which unveils many of the cruelties committed by ISIS fighters upon women and children. The third part is titled "The Accomplice." The many women and men who appear in the first part return in the second. Reading the first part, my impression was that each chapter was a random compilation of the horrors that transpired in the Sinjar region. However, to my surprise, the chapters started to take a life of their own. It's a nonfiction work, let me repeat. The characters are all real. Their names have been changed. The author in the introduction itself has acknowledged this. But the lives of these characters, the real people, are traced to the fullest extent to present the essence of the Yezidi experience during the ISIS invasion.
Women like Zahra and Leila go through tremendous torture under the ISIS regime. On the one hand, they faced forced religious conversions into Islam and on the other, they were sold in slave markets. Evocative and terrifying, With Ash on Their Faces is a powerful narrative of the dark realities of our time. The women, to make themselves undesirable in the eyes of their captors, covered their faces with ashes. The plight of these women was worsened by the fact that most of them were illiterate. When they were kidnapped into different territories in Syria, they could not read signs to find rescue from the ISIS camps. "Historically, Yezidis eschewed formal education that was associated with repressive state authorities, languages and the threat of conversion. The tradition faded, but its impact can still be seen in the female illiteracy rate," (Otten 121) notes the author.
to read more: go to https://anu-lal.blogspot.com/
The geographical locale where the atrocities of ISIS are committed is northern Iraq. With Ash on Their Faces is written with a journalistic sensibility. Sentimentality is kept at bay while narrating the heartbreaking experiences of many Yezidi women. They endured mass rapes, constitutionalised slavery, and genocide.
The book is written in three parts. The first part is titled "The Fall of Sinjar". This part explains the historicity of the attacks of the ISIS on the people of Iraq. The second part is titled "The Women of Kojo", which unveils many of the cruelties committed by ISIS fighters upon women and children. The third part is titled "The Accomplice." The many women and men who appear in the first part return in the second. Reading the first part, my impression was that each chapter was a random compilation of the horrors that transpired in the Sinjar region. However, to my surprise, the chapters started to take a life of their own. It's a nonfiction work, let me repeat. The characters are all real. Their names have been changed. The author in the introduction itself has acknowledged this. But the lives of these characters, the real people, are traced to the fullest extent to present the essence of the Yezidi experience during the ISIS invasion.
Women like Zahra and Leila go through tremendous torture under the ISIS regime. On the one hand, they faced forced religious conversions into Islam and on the other, they were sold in slave markets. Evocative and terrifying, With Ash on Their Faces is a powerful narrative of the dark realities of our time. The women, to make themselves undesirable in the eyes of their captors, covered their faces with ashes. The plight of these women was worsened by the fact that most of them were illiterate. When they were kidnapped into different territories in Syria, they could not read signs to find rescue from the ISIS camps. "Historically, Yezidis eschewed formal education that was associated with repressive state authorities, languages and the threat of conversion. The tradition faded, but its impact can still be seen in the female illiteracy rate," (Otten 121) notes the author.
to read more: go to https://anu-lal.blogspot.com/
December 16, 2019
With Ash on Their Faces: Yezidi Women and the Islamic State by Cathy Otten is one of the best books that I have read this year. This book is based on extensive interviews with survivors of the Yezidi population. It is a work of extreme research and analysis. It highlights and brings forward the reality of the war-torn areas of Iraq. ISIS's genocidal attack on the Yezidi population of northern Iraq in the summer of 2014 brought the world's attention to the followers of faith with a long history of persecution. Men were killed, and the Yezidi women were taken to the Islamic state to be sold.
This book narrates the plight of Yezidi women and children.
Who are the Yezidis? Yazidis are an endogamous and mostly Kurmanji-speaking group of contested ethnic origin, indigenous to Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. The majority of Yazidis remaining in the Middle East today live in Iraq, primarily in the Nineveh and Dohuk governorates.
In August 2014, the Yazidis became victims of genocide by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in its campaign to rid Iraq and its neighbouring countries of non-Islamic influences (Source: Wikipedia).
With Ash on Their Faces presents a unique and profoundly moving account of the privations and resistance of those enslaved by a monstrous regime. The real-life accounts of the Yezidi women are heart-wrenching. The author has done some extensive research and presented a first-hand reporting of the pathetic condition of the Yezidi population. But the author has not just portrayed their difficulties and the constant turmoil that they are a part of, she also describes how brave and courageous these women are.
This book is extremely informative. The society needs more books like this so that people get to know what is going on around them in the world. The headlines of newspapers move on after a few days of hue and cry, and so does the issue from the minds of the people. But the people who are the victims- their trouble persists. They continue to live their lives under constant fear and pressure. The account of the various Yezidi women like Leila, Nadima (names have been changed) gives the readers goosebumps and is shocking. Tears welled up in my eyes as I read them.
The author has done a commendable job in bringing forth an issue like this. Her narrative style is informative and detailed. This book has had a huge impact on me.
The world needs peace and not war. This needs to be understood by people. One cannot even imagine how devastating war can be. We need to do away with all the hatred. Only peace can bring prosperity.
I absolutely recommend this book to everyone. It is a must-read!
This book narrates the plight of Yezidi women and children.
Who are the Yezidis? Yazidis are an endogamous and mostly Kurmanji-speaking group of contested ethnic origin, indigenous to Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. The majority of Yazidis remaining in the Middle East today live in Iraq, primarily in the Nineveh and Dohuk governorates.
In August 2014, the Yazidis became victims of genocide by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in its campaign to rid Iraq and its neighbouring countries of non-Islamic influences (Source: Wikipedia).
With Ash on Their Faces presents a unique and profoundly moving account of the privations and resistance of those enslaved by a monstrous regime. The real-life accounts of the Yezidi women are heart-wrenching. The author has done some extensive research and presented a first-hand reporting of the pathetic condition of the Yezidi population. But the author has not just portrayed their difficulties and the constant turmoil that they are a part of, she also describes how brave and courageous these women are.
This book is extremely informative. The society needs more books like this so that people get to know what is going on around them in the world. The headlines of newspapers move on after a few days of hue and cry, and so does the issue from the minds of the people. But the people who are the victims- their trouble persists. They continue to live their lives under constant fear and pressure. The account of the various Yezidi women like Leila, Nadima (names have been changed) gives the readers goosebumps and is shocking. Tears welled up in my eyes as I read them.
The author has done a commendable job in bringing forth an issue like this. Her narrative style is informative and detailed. This book has had a huge impact on me.
The world needs peace and not war. This needs to be understood by people. One cannot even imagine how devastating war can be. We need to do away with all the hatred. Only peace can bring prosperity.
I absolutely recommend this book to everyone. It is a must-read!
April 28, 2024
While this is not what I’m usually (in vain) looking for when I’m looking for books about Yazidis (that’s usually history and theology), it’s nevertheless a well-constructed look at a massively important topic— the Yazidi genocide of 2014-15. Although it focuses mainly on Yazidi women, it’s also done a good job of trying to use that lens to talk about the experiences of the whole community. Personally, I would have liked a little more on the religious evolution that the ISIS kidnappings and genocide necessitated— particularly because the decision that women who had been raped and/or forcibly converted by ISIS fighters would be accepted back into the community seems to have, understandably, given hope and help to many survivors. But I’m aware that that’s a me thing.
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