Awarded France’s National Order of the Legion of Honor

On 14 March 2026, France awarded Nadia Murad the National Order of the Legion of Honor, one of the country’s highest distinctions. The decoration recognized her fight against sexual violence in conflict and her advocacy for Yazidi survivors of the so‑called Islamic State’s genocide.

The Legion of Honor has historically been bestowed on individuals who have rendered eminent services to France or advanced causes of universal significance. By honoring a Yazidi survivor‑advocate, the French state signaled that combating sexual violence in war and defending minority rights are central to its conception of global human rights and international responsibility.

This decoration was historically significant because it connected Murad’s work to a long lineage of human‑rights defenders, intellectuals, and artists recognized by France, further internationalizing her status as a symbol of resistance against gendered and communal violence. It also illustrated how European states increasingly use their highest civilian honors to highlight the importance of survivor‑led justice movements.

For women’s history, Murad’s receipt of the Legion of Honor underscores the extent to which a woman from a small, persecuted religious minority in northern Iraq has reshaped global conversations about war crimes, sexual violence, and the rights of survivors, earning recognition at the highest levels of multiple national and international institutions.