【英语语言学习】战争国家的妇女们

 The United States and other nations have agreed to work together to oppose the Islamic State militant¹ group. The group now controls parts of Iraq and Syria.

This week, two Iraqi girls won a personal victory by escaping from Islamic State militants². Here is part of their story.

Samira, age 17, and Samia, 14, are members of Iraq’s non-Muslim Yazidi minority. They and other Yazidis were forced from their homes in the northern Iraqi town of Tal Azar last month. At the time, Islamic State forces were moving through the area. The Yazidis decided³ to stop at a well to get water. But soon the Islamists surrounded the group.

The militants separated the men from the rest of the group. Samia and Samira were placed in trucks with other women and children. Their truck and other vehicles passed through several towns before reaching Mosul. There they were moved from place to place.

Samira said that every time militants moved the group, some people were taken away. She said their captors told them they were going to be taught the way of Islam. Then all the girls were separated from the women.

“One of their sheikhs came and told us that we would be sold on the market, married to their men and be converted⁵ to Islam,” Samira says. “He said those who don’t convert⁴ will be killed.”

The leader of the militants would then bring different groups of men. Each time, the men would take several of the girls away.

Samira and Samia spent more than two weeks in Mosul, until one day the girls were given to two men and taken south to Fallujah.

For one week, a group of men kept Samia and Samira in an empty house in Fallujah. The girls said they were beaten during that time, but they resisted sexual⁶ attacks.

The girls, however, were planning their escape. In the house, they found traditional women’s clothing and, more importantly, a knife. When they were left alone one night, they broke open the lock on the door and fled.

Friends of friends gave them shelter in Fallujah. They helped the girls get a driver and false documents to get through security positions around Baghdad. Members of the Yazidi community took them in and sent them home.

Amnesty International: Ethnic⁷ Cleansing⁸ is Taking Place

The human rights group Amnesty International has accused the Islamic State of carrying out a violent campaign against all people who are not Arabs or Sunni Muslims. The group calls it “ethnic cleansing on a historical scale.” Ethnic cleansing is the attempt to completely remove an ethnic group from an area.

Some estimates claim there are thousands of victims of the Islamic State group. Reports from those who escaped the militants that captured Samira and Samia say men and boys seized by the IS are often killed.

Serra Sippel says the IS uses rape⁹ as a tool to punish women and defeat communities. Serra Sippel is president of the Center for Health and Gender¹⁰ Equality in Washington. She says forced marriage is just another form of rape.

Ten Sunni Arab nations have promised efforts to oppose the Islamic State militant group. These efforts are described in terms of national security and fighting terrorism, but not in fighting abuse.

The Islamic State Uses Media to Gain Supporters

Imam Mohamed Magid is president of the Islamic Society of North America. The group is the largest and oldest Muslim American organization. He says it is the duty of Muslims around the world to speak out against violence and abuse against minorities and women.

Some argue the task has become urgent because the IS uses the media to gain sympathizers. Last week, a teenage girl from the United States told a court that she was guilty of trying to join up with an Islamic State fighters online.

Adel Iskander is with Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. He says more needs to be done to oppose the militant group’s media campaign and show its true nature. He says the group uses media to create fear in the hearts of its enemies while abusing Islamic teachings to get young volunteers.

Imam Mohamed Magid warns that the news media should not call the group the Islamic State. He says this could cause the public to believe that the militant group actually is a state. In his words, “They should name it as it deserves to be called - a cult¹¹ of terror.”

I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

1 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

2 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 convert   

v.（在形式、状态、用途等方面）（使）改变

参考例句：

• I must convert sorrow into strength.我要化悲痛为力量。
• At what rate does the dollar convert into pounds?美元以什么汇率兑换成英镑？

5 converted   

adj.更换信仰的，修改的v.（使）转变( convert的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）转化；皈依；改变（信仰）

参考例句：

• The hotel is going to be converted into a nursing home. 那家旅馆将被改建成私人疗养院。
• He's living in a converted loft in lower Manhattan. 他住在下曼哈顿的一间改建的阁楼里。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 sexual   

adj.性的，两性的，性别的

参考例句：

• He was a person of gross sexual appetites.他是个性欲旺盛的人。
• It is socially irresponsible to refuse young people advice on sexual matters.拒绝向年轻人提供性方面的建议是对社会不负责任。

7 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

8 cleansing   

n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词

参考例句：

• medicated cleansing pads for sensitive skin 敏感皮肤药物清洗棉
• Soap is not the only cleansing agent. 肥皂并不是唯一的清洁剂。

9 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

10 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

11 cult   

n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜

参考例句：

• Her books aren't bestsellers,but they have a certain cult following.她的书算不上畅销书，但有一定的崇拜者。
• The cult of sun worship is probably the most primitive one.太阳崇拜仪式或许是最为原始的一种。