One year ago, militant group Boko Haram kidnapped 300 female students from a school in Chibok, Nigeria.
The event sparked a public outcry among world leaders and online, where the campaign to find the missing girls was marked by the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls.
Now, the movement has largely lost momentum and hope is hope fading that the girls will ever be found. “Their whereabouts remain unknown. As much as I wish to, I cannot promise that we can find them,” Nigerian president-elect Muhammadu Buhari said in a statement.
Boko Haram began operating in Nigeria over 10 years ago and aims to create a purely religious government, an Islamic caliphate in Nigeria. It has carried out a campaign of violence and abduction. Amnesty International estimates that the group has abducted over 2,000 women and girls since the beginning of 2014.
The girls have reportedly suffered abuse by Boko Haram, including forced marriage, sexual abuse and conversion to Islam. Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said he would sell the girls into slavery.
Demonstrators around the world showed support for the students on the anniversary of their kidnapping, with demonstrators marching in Paris and a tribute at the Empire State Building in New York City.
“We ought to have protected them. We failed them. Each and every one of us, we failed them. And the next best thing that we ought to have done is to have rescued them. And up until now, we have not done that,” activist Aisha Yesufu said.
Warm up questions
- Where is Nigeria?
- Do you remember #BringBackOurGirls? Did they ever find the girls?
Critical thinking questions
- Why do you think the girls have still not been found?
- Why, and how, can we continue discussing Boko Haram and the missing students? What can people do to continue raising awareness?
- What is the responsibility of the international community to address this issue?