“An inspiring story of resistance and survival.”
—Patrick Cockburn
“Otten’s searing chronicle … is compelling and
devastatingly necessary.”
—Sareta Ashraph
ISIS’s genocidal attack on the Yezidi population of northern Iraq in the summer of 2014 brought the world’s attention to followers of a faith with a long history of persecution. Large numbers of men were executed, while thousands of Yezidi women were taken to the Islamic state to be sold as chattel for ISIS fighters.
The headlines have moved on, but many Yezidi women and children remain in captivity. Their mass abduction is here conveyed with extraordinary intensity by the first-hand reporting of a young journalist who has worked in Iraqi Kurdistan for four years.
Based on extensive interviews with survivors, as well as those who smuggled them to safety, With Ash on Their Faces presents a unique and profoundly moving account of the privations and resistance of those enslaved by a monstrous regime.
About the Author
Cathy 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.