In Oslo, Nadia Murad receives the Nobel Peace Prize and delivers her Nobel lecture alongside Denis Mukwege.
On 10 December 2018, Nadia Murad formally received the Nobel Peace Prize at the award ceremony in Oslo, Norway, sharing the honor with Dr. Denis Mukwege. In her Nobel lecture, Murad recounted the August 2014 attack on the Yazidi community, the massacre in Kojo, and her own enslavement, and she demanded justice and reconstruction for survivors.
The ceremony was historically significant because it placed a young Yazidi survivor at the center of the world’s most prominent peace stage. Murad used the moment not for personal celebration but to present concrete policy demands: recognition of the Yazidi genocide, prosecution of ISIS members for international crimes including sexual violence, protection for vulnerable minorities, and investment in rebuilding Sinjar so survivors could return home.
Her speech contributed to the evolving normative framework around conflict‑related sexual violence, reinforcing the idea that accountability and survivor participation are prerequisites for durable peace. It also helped normalize the presence of women from conflict‑affected communities as authoritative speakers in global forums traditionally dominated by state leaders and diplomats. For women’s and minority history, the Oslo ceremony stands as a key moment when a survivor of sexual enslavement transformed an experience of extreme marginalization into a powerful platform for international legal and political change.