Is there a safe haven? Experiences of female Ezidi refugees in Fidanlık refugee camp

On 3 August 2014 the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) attacked the Ezidi religious minority in Sinjar, northern Iraq, resulting in the displacement of the overwhelming majority of the community. The study considers whether the reasons for the displacement of Ezidi women from Sinjar (who, by December 2016, were living in Fidanlık Camp, Diyarbakır, Turkey), are consistent with International Refugee Law (IRL) principles. It also lays down their experiences as refugee women, trying to offer an insight into the gendered aspect of their day-to-day lives. To this end, interviews with Ezidi women living in one of the refugee camps, and local service providers, form the basis of this study. It also briefly reviews the evolution of a dominant interpretation of IRL and its critics, while examining the extension of the refugee regime’s ability to provide protection to women claiming asylum, offer solutions to the problems they face, and provide information about the local legal framework and practices.