Bring Back Our Girls

On April 14th, nearly 300 Nigerian young ladies were abducted from their boarding school in the northern town Chibok by an Islamic militant group, Boko Haram. Boko Haram literally translates to "Western education is forbidden." The militant group's motive for the abduction is obvious in their name. The group holds a puritanical Islamic view that a woman's place is at home.

In response to this, the United States and United Kingdom are both preparing to send over teams to help locate the Nigerian girls. President Barack Obama and US secretary of state John Kerry set to discuss the abduction in a meeting; Mr. Kerry went on to reach out to the Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan who welcomed the offer to send a team to assist his government in the search for the schoolgirls.

John Kerry and Mr. Jonathan discussed the “interdisciplinary team”, deciding that it would be composed of US military personnel, law enforcement officials with expertise in investigations and hostage negotiations as well as officials with expertise in other areas that may be helpful.

Americans have responded to the abductions as well, from political figures like Hillary Clinton to popstars like Mary J Blige. Protesters have rallied outside the Nigerian embassy in Washington with the slogan: Bring Back Our Girls. The same slogan has been broadcasted across all social media sites. Despite the religious and ethnic rifts in Nigeria as well as other countries, citizens are coming together to put pressure on their governments to act on behalf of this young ladies whose lives have been put in the face of danger.