This Mother's Day, Let's #BringBackOurGirls

Friday, May 9, 2014
With Mother's Day two days away, I can't help but reflect on how lucky I am to have two beautiful daughters.

I love the stifled giggles as well as the outbursts of laughter. I love the stolen glances that make my heart stop. I love catching them looking at me as if I hold the keys to the world.

This Mother's Day, there will be Nigerian mothers who won't know the joy of spending this day with their beloved daughters.

In mid-April militants stormed an all-girls school in Nigeria and snatched more than 250 girls from their beds as they lie sleeping. It is now believed that these girls have been split up into smaller groups and have been moved across Nigerian borders into other African countries.

The extremists who abducted these girls are members of Boko Haram (translated means "Western education is sin"), Nigeria's militant Islamist group, and they are justifying their actions by claiming that they are in accordance with Islamic law. However, influential voices in the Muslim community have declared that these actions are contradictory to Islam and it's principles of tolerance.

A Boko Haram leader has allegedly claimed that Allah is commanding him to sell. He has threatened to sell these girls. The price? He will sell for the equivalent of $12 US dollars.

I cannot fathom such extreme actions occurring in this country. I can't begin to contemplate the fear that these girls are experiencing and the helplessness of the families. It's an unthinkable act, but it's not the first one for Boko Haram. The group has a history of targeting schools and killing innocent children.

But how can we make a difference when we are so far removed from this situation? Here are ways you and I can help bring these girls back to their families.

1. Use your social media influence to make a difference. Engage in social media campaigns using the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls on Twitter, Facebook, Google+.

2. Take a photo with the #BRINGBACKOURGIRLS hashtag and show you support our girls, just as Michelle Obama has done.


3. Sign this petition at Change.org to help #bringbackourgirls.

4. Like Bring Back Our Girls on Facebook.

5. Change your Facebook and Twitter profiles to this picture: https://www.facebook.com/GirlRising/posts/651431364910481?stream_ref=10

6. 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/

We can make a difference. Thanks to the power of social media all voices, large and small, can make their way to powerful world leaders. Take the first step, and let you voice be heard.

2 comments

Unknown said...

I just keep thinking of those poor mothers and those frightened little girls. WHEN we find them I hope they are able to recover. They will need a lot of emotions support

Sheila said...

I can't get it out of my mind either, Sarah. Bringing them back is only half the battle. They will have a long road ahead to emotional recovery.