Undated picture released May 18, 2016 by Nigeria army of rescued Chibok schoolgirl and her baby in Maiduguri, Nigeria.  Nigeria Military/Handout via REUTERS TV

Undated picture of a rescued Chibok schoolgirl and her baby in Maiduguri, Nigeria. Nigeria Military/Handout via REUTERS TV.

In a previous post, I discussed the kidnap of 218 girls from their school in Nigeria in 2014. Recently, some good news broke in relation to the girls with the two teenagers being rescued.

On Tuesday the 18th of May news broke of the rescue of one of the so-called Chibok girls (named after the school they were attending when they were kidnapped). The girl – Amina Ali Darsha – was rescued by members of a civilian vigilante group. The girl had a four month old baby and was also accompanied by a man claiming to be her husband (he is also a member of the Boko Haram terrorist group). After being reunited with her parents Amina was brought to meet with the President of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari.

On the 19th of May the government released a statement saying that vigilante groups and the Nigerian army had killed 35 Boko Haram militants which led to the freeing of 97 women and children. In this group was a girl named Serah Luka who was also among the 219 girls kidnapped from her school.
This news was of course met with joy from people around the world – the freeing of any kidnapped person always does. It was also important because it brought the plight of the kidnapped girls back into people’s minds. After more than two years and after the original interest in the catchy hashtag #BringBackOurGirls had died down, this news reminded people why rescuing them is so important.

-Michelle O’Brien
Junior Girl
Girl Museum Inc.

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