Three years after Boko Haram kidnapped the 276 Chibok girls — a survivor shares her hope for the future
On April 14, 2014, Boko Haram took 276 girls from their school in Northern Nigeria. About 195 of the Chibok schoolgirls remain imprisoned. Despite the trauma of the kidnapping and Boko Haram’s continued assault on girls’ education, the survivors remain dedicated to their studies and to seeing safe schools for all Nigerian girls.
On the third anniversary of their kidnapping, one of the Chibok survivors chose to share with us her hope to become a doctor, her message to those who remain in captivity and her plea to world leaders.
“The most difficult part of being home is the fear — reliving the trauma of what happened that night. I am always scared and find it difficult to trust people. Initially I was so afraid of the dark that I found it difficult to sleep. I was afraid something would happen to me if I slept or that I would wake up to realize my freedom would just be a dream.
We haven’t been reunited with all members of my extended family. Some of my brothers and sisters are scattered in different places as a result of the insurgency. Life is different from what it used to be before Boko Haram. There is hunger — people cannot go to the farm or village markets and trade like before.
In my community, girls’ education is not seen as important as boys’ education. In most families, the highest level of education a girl can achieve is junior secondary school or senior secondary school. In our communities, girls are seen as supporters of mothers in running the homes and taking care of our siblings.
But it is very important for girls to go to school. My favorite subject in school is biology. One day, I would like to go to the university, study medicine and become a doctor.
To the girls that are still in captivity, my message is to persevere, be prayerful and keep hope alive. We have been praying for them. We look forward to the day they will return home and reunite with us.
My plea to the Nigerian government and world leaders is to intensify efforts so that all my sisters will return home alive. I want them to protect all schools to ensure this does not happen again. I want them to rebuild our schools, homes and villages. I want all girls to be able to go safely back to school.”
When the Chibok girls were kidnapped from their schools and ripped from the safety of home and family, they lost their freedom and their futures. Everyday we hope for the safe return of the missing Chibok girls and stand committed to fighting for a world where they can safely go to school and choose a life for themselves.
Join us in the fight to build a world where every girl can learn and lead without fear.
