On April 15th, an estimated 234 girls between 16 and 18 years old were taken from a school in northeastern Nigeria by a group of Islamic militants called Boko Haram. That’s all that is known for sure.
The girls are believed to have been taken into the Sambisa forest. The forest, reportedly quite thick and swampy and containing a sizable wildlife population ranging from monkeys to elephants, is a Boko Haram stronghold. Escapees report that once there the girls were asked to cook for the insurgents. Bystanders in the general area say that the girls have now been split up and subjected to mass wedding ceremonies. Some say they have been taken out of Nigeria. Some also say the girls are now “sex slaves,” though that worry has been around from the time the girls disappeared, of course. The oft-reported rumor is they’re being auctioned off for the equivalent of $12 USD. No one has yet verified these reports with any degree of certainty. Source Gawker.com
Nigeria has offered $300,000.00 REWARD FOR INFORMATION Source Reuters http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/07/us-nigeria-girls-idUSBREA450IO20140507?irpc=932
Some quotes from a man claiming to be Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau Source http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/05/world/africa/nigeria-abducted-girls/
“I abducted your girls. I will sell them in the market, by Allah,” a man claiming to be Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said in a video first obtained by Agence France-Presse.
“There is a market for selling humans. Allah says I should sell. He commands me to sell. I will sell women. I sell women,” he continued, according to a CNN translation from the local Hausa language.
Boko Haram is a terrorist group receiving training from al Qaeda affiliates, according to U.S. officials. Its name means “Western education is sin.” In his nearly hourlong, rambling video, Shekau repeatedly called for Western education to end.
“Girls, you should go and get married,” he said.
As a mother, this is absolutely horrifying. I couldn’t begin to imagine if it was my daughter that was kidnapped. Could you? Unfortunately in some countries, this is the reality of their life, but that doesn’t mean something can’t be done about it.
Here’s what you can do:
1. Sign the Petition
http://www.change.org/petitions/over-200-girls-are-missing-in-nigeria-so-why-doesn-t-anybody-care-234girls
2. #BRINGBACKOURGIRLS
Use social media to spread the word about the situation in Nigeria. Put massive pressure on the government, security forces, and the neighboring governments to spur them to action. Use the hash tag, #BRINGBACKOURGIRLS. Change your profiled picture to Bring Back Our Girls. (see attached)
3. Get More Information
Read more by World Moms Blog contributor Jennifer Prestholdt in The Advocates for Human Rights post, “Nightmare for Nigeria’s School Girls,” at:
http://theadvocatespost.org/2014/04/30/nightmare-for-nigerias-school-girls/
4. Show we are united and take it to social media! Take a photo with the #BRINGBACKOUTGIRLS hash tag and show you support our girls!!!!! Sign prompts “What if it was your daughter” “Where are our girls, we want them back”
5. Like Bring Our Girls Back on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/bringbackourgirls
