Meanwhile back in the village, Layla wasn't talking to anybody. She stayed in her room most of the time and only ate what she had to.
Like almost all of the people in this village, the woman who runs the household – the IS member's wife – sympathizes. The housewife says that when Layla was first brought to the house, her husband told her she must be very careful not to show any feelings about the situation because the emir, or senior member within the group, who comes to visit Layla “is a very ruthless person”.
Still, many of the extremist fighters who come from Ninawa have refused to take the captive women. Local culture and societal norms are strongly opposed to this kind of behaviour, no matter what the IS group doctrine “creatively” says about it. However hardly anybody dares to speak out about it either, for fear of retribution.
That is why when, in the village where Layla was being held, it was noteworthy that one of the village elders openly said that any family that opens its house to those who kidnap and enslave women would be dishonoured forever.
The woman of the house where Layla was being held has become closer to her captive. And eventually the older woman realised that the younger needed medical care. She asked her husband to ask permission for the pair to travel to Mosul, to hospital there, and eventually she was told that she could do this. However the emir, to whom the girl belonged, said that the women would have to travel with another IS fighter to ensure that Layla didn't escape.
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