BM 66 – #BringOurDaughtersBack – Campaign
On the night of 14 April 2014, around 230 girls from the age 16 to 18 were abducted from their boarding school in the Nigerian town of Chibuk. They were taken by militants, likely to be forced to marry their kidnappers or to be sold across the border for sexual services. The group Boko Haram, which is assumed to be responsible for the kidnapping, defines girls’ role to be mothers and to take care of their husbands and the household, not to be educated at school. Around 50 girls were able to escape but around 230 are still in the hands of their captors. Since then there are no news about their whereabouts and well-being. The ministry and the local authorities are blamed for not doing enough to find the girls and bring them home.
ESU believes that access to education is one of the most important principles and fully condemns the girls’ kidnapping from their school in Nigeria. This disruption of the girls’ education prevents them from accessing their human rights and enjoying their right to self-determination. ESU calls for action from the Nigerian government and local authorities to urgently work to identify the location of the girls and release them from their captivity. ESU stands in solidarity with those working to bring the girls back and fight for the girls’ right to education.
