‘On Her Shoulders’ is a documentary about 23 yo Nadia Murad and her journey to spreading awareness about the 2014 genocide of Yazidis in Northern Iraq. She was a prisoner of ISIS who escaped and was one of their many young sex slaves. She travels around the world doing interviews and going on talk shows to talk about her experiences to spread awareness and to try and make a difference for her community. This documentary follows her throughout the process up to the day she gives her testimony at the general assembly of the UN.
This piece is so powerful and so relevant to the field of journalism because it not only follows a young woman who was never meant to be an activist or public figure but it exposes a negative side of media and journalism that needs to be addressed. She was a simple girl from the village who had her life taken from her and made the decision to dedicate her life to try and make a difference for her community. But why I say it is so relevant to the field of journalism is because this doc exposes how sometimes journalists and media focuses attention on irrelevant aspects of a situation and hone in on one specific thing that may be the easier option to draw the attention on the public rather than on what is the real point. And it also sheds light on how as journalists, we need to truly try and understand stories that are being told and the people which are sharing these stories. Yes, it is important to get the story, yet we have a duty to protect those who are sharing and be sensitive to their situation and tread lightly. I don’t want to go into detail and elaborate further because then I will give it away. This is a documentary that anyone going into the field needs to watch and really needs to take into consideration for their future journalistic endeavors.