Shaimaa
Shaimaa is a young woman from the Sinjar region of northern Iraq, born in the late 1990s, who experienced profound challenges during the rise of the Islamic State (IS) in 2014. Following the violent takeover of her hometown, she and her family were forced into a refugee camp where she faced the realities of loss, including the death of her brother, who had Down syndrome. In her quest for normalcy, Shaimaa married at seventeen, but her marriage turned abusive, leading her to divorce, an act that brought social stigma and backlash from her family.
Despite these hardships, Shaimaa became a beacon of hope for others in the camp, organizing activities for children and advocating for young refugees' rights. Her story gained international attention after being published in a Spanish newspaper, earning her an award and recognition from organizations like Save the Children. She later became involved with Free to Run, a group focused on empowering young women through marathon training. As both a participant and coach, she has helped fellow girls build confidence and independence through sports, and in 2020, she was honored with the Courageous Use of Sport award. Shaimaa's journey reflects resilience and the transformative power of community support in the face of adversity.
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Subject Terms
Shaimaa
Activist, runner
- Born: ca. 1998
- Birthplace: Sinjar region, Iraq
Significance: Shaimaa is a young Iraqi woman who lived through an abusive marriage and the takeover of northern Iraq by the Islamic State in the mid-2010s. Encouraged by a program called Free to Run, Shaimaa now helps other young women who have faced similar circumstances find their own peace of mind.
Background
Shaimaa was born in the late 1990s in the mountainous Sinjar region of northern Iraq. In 2014, the Islamic militant group the Islamic State (IS) conquered the region. IS was a group of fundamentalist Sunni Muslims who believed in a strict interpretation of Islamic law. In 2013 and 2014, the group began conquering large sections of Iraq and Syria, using a campaign of terror and intimidation to subjugate their territory. The method IS used were brutal, often executing those who would not convert to Sunni Islam and forcing thousands of women and girls into sexual slavery.
When IS attacked her hometown in 2014, Shaimaa and her family were forced to flee to a refugee camp in another part of Iraq. She thought that by agreeing to her family’s push for her to be married, she could provide some semblance of normalcy. She was married in 2015 at age seventeen.
While at the camp, Shaimaa organized fun activities for the other children in the camp. She did this out of love for her eleven-year-old brother, who had Down syndrome. However, this clashed with the traditional views on the role of women held by many in Iraq, including her husband and family. Shaimaa said she felt trapped in her marriage, which she says was abusive. When her brother died in 2016, she divorced her husband.
Her family was furious as divorce carried a social stigma in her culture. She was shunned by her family, beaten by her uncle, and told that she should be ashamed of herself.
Life’s Work
Shaimaa received international notice when she wrote a story that was published in a Spanish newspaper. The story, about her experiences fleeing IS and dealing with the treatment from her family, won an award. She began talking to children and teens in the camp, collecting stories of harassment, and acting as a liaison between young refugees and international aid organizations. She was recruited by the British aid group Save the Children to help with local projects.
In 2018, the group Free to Run came to Shaimaa’s camp. The group’s goal is to encourage young women and girls in areas of international conflict by training them to run marathons. Shaimaa was one of the first to join the group. She used the rapport she had built up with the girls in the camp to recruit others to join the running group.
Shaimaa has completed numerous marathons and boasts a wall full of medals and certificates touting her accomplishments. In 2020, she was able to move her parents and siblings out of the refugee camp and into an apartment in Baharka City.
Impact
Shaimaa became a running coach and mentor for Free to Run. She worked with twenty other girls, helping to train them physically and helping them deal with personal troubles. According to Time magazine, Shaimaa reported that the program is helping young women become independent. In 2020, Shaimaa was awarded the Courageous Use of Sport award from the organization Beyond Sport.
Bibliography
“Empowerment Through Running.” Free to Run, 2023, freetorun.org/. Accessed 5 July 2023.
Hincks, Joseph. “A Decade After the Arab Spring, These Activists Are Finding New Ways to Fight for Progress.” 12 Jan. 2021, Time, time.com/5926742/arab-spring-decade/. Accessed 5 July 2023.
“Sinjar (Shingal).” The Kurdish Project, thekurdishproject.org/kurdistan-map/iraqi-kurdistan/sinjar-shingal/. Accessed 5 July 2023.
“Timeline: The Rise, Spread, and Fall of the Islamic State.” Wilson Center, 28 Oct. 2019, www.wilsoncenter.org/article/timeline-the-rise-spread-and-fall-the-islamic-state. Accessed 13 June 2023.
“‘I Feel Free When I Run’: The Young Women Enjoying a Sense of Freedom in Iraq.” The Guardian, 22 Feb. 2022, www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/feb/22/i-feel-free-when-i-run-the-young-women-enjoying-a-sense-of-freedom-in-iraq. Accessed 5 July 2023.