Adoption and “Neighbour‑by‑Choice” in Yazidi Communities: Practices, Legal Status, and Social Perception

This encyclopedia entry provides a scholarly overview of adoption‑like practices among Yazidis, focusing on the culturally specific concept of “neighbour‑by‑choice,” its interaction with national legal frameworks, and the varied social responses it elicits.

Neighbour‑by‑Choice (Kurdish: xweşî‑bê‑bavê) refers to the informal, kin‑like care of a child by a non‑biological Yazidi family member or community neighbor, without formal registration or state‑sanctioned adoption.

Pronunciation & orthography

The term is rendered in Kurmanji Latin script as xweşî‑bê‑bavê, in Arabic‑script as خوشی‑به‑باوه, and in Cyrillic (used by some diaspora communities) as хвеши‑бе‑баве. IPA: /xweˈʃiː be ˈbɑve/. Common English misspellings include “khweshibebave” and “xweshibebave”.

Main exposition

Historical roots

Yazidi society has long emphasized collective responsibility for orphaned children, a value echoed in the qewl corpus that praises those who “give a roof to a child without parents.” While classical Islamic law traditionally prohibits formal adoption (tabannī), Yazidi customary law developed its own mechanisms for child‑care, allowing relatives, clan members, or trusted neighbors to assume parental roles without altering lineage (Adding by Choice 2015) ⁴.

Impact of the ISIS genocide

Between 2014 and 2017, ISIS enslaved thousands of Yazidi women; many gave birth to children fathered by militants. These children, often labeled “ISIL offspring,” face profound stigma and legal limbo. McGee (2020) documents that roughly 500 such children risk statelessness, and that community attitudes range from protective inclusion to outright rejection (McGee 2020) ¹. In 2021 Al Jazeera reported the reunification of nine Yazidi mothers with their twelve children, highlighting the community’s “wrenching choice” between preserving communal purity and extending care (Al Jazeera 2021) ³.

Legal ambiguity

Iraqi law on religious identity, revised in 2004, requires a documented paternal lineage for citizenship. Children born to Yazidi women and ISIS fighters are often denied nationality because the father’s identity is either unknown or classified as a terrorist (Liu 2025) ². Consequently, the informal “neighbour‑by‑choice” arrangement operates outside the legal framework, offering a de‑facto solution without granting the child full civic rights.

Social perception

Within Yazidi enclaves, acceptance of “neighbour‑by‑choice” varies. In Sinjar, many families have taken in children of unknown paternity as a form of communal solidarity, whereas in Sheikhan a more conservative stance prevails, with elders urging that such children be placed in specialized care centers to avoid “contamination” of the tribe (McGee 2020) ¹. Diaspora communities, especially in Europe, tend to favor formal legal adoption routes, often navigating the host country’s adoption statutes while preserving Yazidi religious identity.

In the oral tradition

The Yazidi oral tradition repeatedly stresses the sacred duty to protect the vulnerable. A frequently cited qewl states: “He who shelters a child of the earth becomes a guardian of the heavens.” This verse, though not codified, underpins the moral legitimacy of “neighbour‑by‑choice” and informs community debates about the fate of children born of captivity (Kreyenbroek 2005, cited in McGee 2020) ¹.

“He who shelters a child of the earth becomes a guardian of the heavens.” – Traditional Yazidi qewl

Scholarly disagreement

Kreyenbroek argues that “neighbour‑by‑choice” constitutes a culturally specific form of adoption that should be recognized by the Iraqi state to protect children’s rights (cited in McGee 2020). Liu counters that the practice, while socially valuable, cannot replace formal legal mechanisms because it leaves children stateless and vulnerable under international law (Liu 2025) ².

Common misconceptions

Regional variation

In the Sinjar district, the practice is most visible, with local NGOs facilitating placement of children in extended‑family homes. In the Sheikhan region, tribal elders often mediate decisions, sometimes opting for institutional care. Syrian Yazidi enclaves, displaced after 2014, rely on diaspora networks for placement, while Turkish Yazidis, facing legal restrictions on religious identity, tend to send children abroad for adoption. In the diaspora (Germany, Sweden, Canada), families usually pursue state‑registered adoption while maintaining Yazidi rites.

Timeline

Data table