April 14, 2015 marks a year of the day when over 275 school girls were kidnapped from a high school in Chibok, Nigeria. Little did they know that writing an exam would mean not coming back home.
Boko Haram forbids western education and this act of kidnapping was to pressurize the government to release detained fighters of the group. Around 57 girls escaped but the whereabouts of the remaining girls are still unknown. Today, we do not know whether these girls are alive or not. We do not know in what condition they are. Various reports indicate that these girls have been either married off, sold, physically abused, tortured and left to die. Many of them are too young to even understand the gruesome circumstances that they are in.
The kidnapping of these girls was brought into limelight by social activists a year back and the hash tag #BringBackOurGirls was popularized around the world by celebrities to put pressure on the government to get these innocent children back home. What happened? Well, it’s been a year and the campaign died the usual visibility death. Why have we forgotten about this? Where are these girls? What has happened to them? We need answers and we must not let the dust settle.
Through this article, I want to bring notice to a School Girl March scheduled on April 14, 2015. Students and families around the world will march together for the Global School Girl March. The idea is to let the world know that we can make a difference as we march for the Nigerian School girls who were kidnapped. So what if we are miles away from Nigeria. Lend your support and do something about what’s not right.
Letter B could have been Boko Haram but it is not about them. This is about those innocent girls who aren’t back home yet. I cannot do much, But I can at least keep talking about this till ever single girl is back home. Join me!
I am blogging from A to Z during April (#480 on the list) and the theme I have chosen is set on women. Some of the posts will be here for you to know and some will be to reflect and accept . Share your thoughts and let me know how things are going. There is always a room for improvement.
happiness and food 
its quite tragic right…i did read an article that said that these girls, most of them in their thirteens and fourteens were forced to marry the militants.. 😦 ..
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Yes, you are right!! 😦
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Just this morning I was reading an article from The Huffington Post titled “Boko Haram Fighters Murdered Captive Women: UN Human Rights Chief.” It is hard to believe that in the 21st century so many people place so little value in women. It is hard to believe that so many people can find these interpretations of islamic rule logical and worth following. I wish we could simply re-educate these people and show them how wrong they are. What you are doing is something. It is important to continue talking about this and keeping it relevant.
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Oh my God! Looks like I havent yet read that news. But I just saw on TV that Nigerian Government has committed to stop Boko Haram activism.
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Yes I saw that too. I hope they have a real strategy in place to deal with this and that they accept the help of foreign nations because I don’t believe they can do this alone. Their neighbors need to collaborate too.
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You are right and I agree! Seeking help in this situation is the best thing to do.
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I have not forgotten and am so frustrated. We definitely need to pressure all governments to find these little girls now and to destroy Boka Haram and every other terror group. Actually terror group is too kind. They are disgusting pedophiles.
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I can feel your anger and I echo your sentiments.
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heart wrenching to see this state where girls get picked up for negotiations and are forced to marry…the post is quite a powerful appeal Parul.
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Thank you Shweta. Yes, it does break my heart every time I think about this.
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Thank you for letting everyone know about the march. The sad thing is there are so many tragedies occurring around the world that we lose sight of things as the media moves on.
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You are right Sue and that’s what I called the visibility death 😦
Thanks for stopping by!
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Wow–I can’t believe it’s been a year already, and whatever happened to all those girls? I’m glad to hear there’s a Global School March planned to bring attention to the issue again.
Visiting from the A to Z challenge.
http://www.marie-everydaymiracle.blogspot.com
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Yes Marie there is a campaign and what better opportunity to talk about them than here. Glad you shared your page, I will hop by!
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Thank you for reminding us of this terrible situation. I will post this to the BlogHer facebook page’s Women’s Lives initiative. 🙂
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Oh thank you so much Mary and I really appreciate that! Feel free to tag me – I am Parul Kashyap Thakur there 🙂
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Awareness is the first step to support and solution. It is tragic to know that so many suffer on a daily basis.
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You are right Veronica. That’s the first one!
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Parul, I really like how you spread awareness through your AtoZ posts. But what I especially loved about this one was your concluding line *Letter B could have been Boko Haram but it is not about them. This is about those innocent girls who aren’t back home yet. Keep up the good work!
*Shantala @ ShanayaTales*
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Thank you Shantala. It means a lot to hear good things from an awesome blogger like you. Super encouraging and of course pushes me to stretch and write better.
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Parul, I’m sending you a virtual hug! Your strong voice will go a long way in raising awareness about the plight of these girls, who can so easily be forgotten. Thank you for all you are doing through this challenge!
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Thanks a bunch Corinne! You virtual hug warmed my heart and brought a smile to my “down with cold” face 🙂 🙂 I feel really sorry for these girls and wish for some miracles. Nigerian government has to take the case up!
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thanks for reminding,,,even the celebrities who took mileage out of this got the publicity and conveniently forgot about it. Hope some authority is doing something about it.
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Yes, Lata! Let’s hope for the best.
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Heart-wrenching! I`m so glad that I`m following your posts this A to Z! You are doing a good deed by doing the little that you can. Thanks! Keep writing, Parul!
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Thanks a bunch Shalini! 🙂 Appreciate your kind words!
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Another tragic violence. Thanks for courageously bringing the light to these situations.
Mary at The View from my World
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Thank you Mary! Glad you stopped by!
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It’s very sad. I remember when this was in the media circuits. I think there is so much (especially in 2014) that people are urged to pay attention to and fight for that we all get over-saturated, and numbed by the violence, injustice, and general horribleness that humans are capable of that we, ourselves, lose the energy to fight. I hope these girls are safe, but my recent trend to not hope for the best in situations like these (Mexico) makes me feel like the only thing we can hope for is the answer. Which I do hope we get.
Alex Hurst, A Fantasy Author in Kyoto
Out of Print, Fiction authors and their shorts
A-Z Blogging in April Participant
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Yes, hope is all we have got!
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I want to say that I hope they are found soon, but after a year, and given my cynicism, I don’t think that’s very likely. Still, I hope the march goes well and something can at least be dug up as to what happened to them.
Out of Print, Fiction authors and their shorts
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I too hope the same. Thank you for stopping by!
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I salute you for this noble initiative of highlighting major worldly issues through your blog. My heart goes out to those little girls who disappeared. I wish and pray that they safely return to their homes, to their families in good health. 😦
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Thanks a bunch again! The girls who were found were in a state of shock and mentally disturbed. When I was reading about all this I was feeling really bad and I still do. I just saw the news this morning that Nigerian elect is committing to take strong action against Boko Haram. Let’s hope for the best.
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I pray those girls return to their families soon. I feel a shudder go down my spine when I think of the condition they might be in!
I love how you are spreading awareness through your A-Z posts Parul. *Respect*
Betrayed
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Thank you Swathi! Really appreciate your kind words. As bloggers, social blogging is a part of our job and I am just doing my bit. If the word gets out about the march and the government can do anything positive, this will be mission accomplished.
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This was such a sad event. How terrifying for those poor girls. Thanks for highlighting so we may not forget. And I pray that someday these girls will be found and safe.
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It’s terrifying and shocking. How can people do all this to children.
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Terrible! I feel for the families and the girls.
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Yes Mike! It’s almost an unending wait for families 😦
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Its so shameful that how these criminals are easily forgotten and forgiven. What about the kidnapped Girls?
Humanity is completely lost.
Really appreciate your post.
I feel happy that you raised this topic.
Thanks a lot for sharing.
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I echo your thoughts. It’s sad and shameful!
Thanks for your kind words Swati.
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Thinking about those girls situation is not making me feel better. How terrible is this. You are doing a great job by writing about this an year later, Parul. We should not forget those kids.
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It’s an year Vinitha and it’s horrible. Why have we forgotten them 😦
Thank you for encouraging me.
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God, that is tragic. Education is every child’s right and such a horrific thing to happen for no fault of their’s. I hope and pray that the girls are returned to their families. Thank you for writing and creating awareness of this incident.
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You are right Prasanna! This happened when they were at school and that is so sad. Thank you so much for stopping by and welcome to my blog. I found your story very interesting 🙂
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I remember reading about it last year. I can’t even imagine what kind of human being could be so cruel and barbaric to assault little innocent girls!! I seriously don’t know what kind of solution would improve such a situation.
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Boko Haram has had a lot of acts of terrorism to it’s credit..It’s really shocking! Thank you Rajlakshmi for stopping by. I am liking your take on A to Z on both of your blogs. They are really good!
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This is so sad and terrible. I wonder how it must for their families back home. 😐
Hope the girls come back!
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Shudder to think what those little babies must be going through. And, for what? Really, the fight to bring back those innocent girls must go on till each and every little girl is back where she belongs – in her home, with her family.
Great post, Parul!
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True that Shilpa! Thanks a bunch!
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I remember this occurring last year and how horrifying it was. Something as simple as education which most of us take for granted, has resulted in so many girls’ lives being threatened. Let’s hope they all do come back. Thank you for this post!
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Thank you S! Let’s hope for the best!
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huffff.. had to scroll down a lot to finally get this box.. I have forgotten half of the things I wanted to write meanwhile but I must tell what an amazing theme and what a great cause for letter ‘B’. You are right we need to keep talking until every single girl comes back. Way to go girl!
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Oh! I am sorry Roohi, Next time – just do a ctrl+end and you will reach the bottom of the page. I will check on the settings if this is something I can fix.
Thank you for your kind words and as I said in the post. We need to not let the dust settle.
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if it was tearful to read about this in the media, reading it here brought a feeling of helplessness and anger too… do hope the girls are safe and will return unharmed.
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I do feel the same. We need to talk about this more often so that the authorities feel the need to act upon..
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You are doing the right thing by spreading the word as many of us will not be knowing about this. It is so tragic that these things happen.
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Thank you Janaki! Glad to know you agree to my stance.
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This is such a great post. Yes, I remember that hashtag though I didn’t personally use it. I agree that your choice of words is good, to focus attention on the girls, not Boko Haram.
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Thank a bunch for feeling how I do and your kind words..
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One of the vilest events. We should have a place where we can pin this post …it is sad how it’s become just another piece of news. Thanks for writing this.
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I agree to you that it has become just another piece of news. Thank you Sumana for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.
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I do appreciate your courage for standing up for meaningful cause to bring back our girls.. reading your post made me sad, but at the same time I am happy for the action taken…hats off to you, great post !
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Thank you so much! Your words mean a lot!
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Oh yes, we must never forget this despicable act. How sad that so many of the girls are still missing. Kudos to you for keeping this in the public eye. Hoping they are found and returned to safety.
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Yes, I hope so too Debbie!
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It tears the heart apart to see such inhumanity. These are things that will stay with the girls forever and hope that they are brought home safe.
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We cannot dent that fact. At least getting them back will not make many more traumatic memories.
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That’s heart wrenching.. I did read about this issue. I hope your little efforts with the written word can change a few things for better!
Best Kept Secret
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Thanks Nibha! A lot of food for thought on Happinessandfood this month.
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So many good causes have a flash of social media and then they are forgotten. Sad.
@TarkabarkaHolgy from
Multicolored Diary – Epics from A to Z
MopDog – 26 Ways to Die in Medieval Hungary
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Yes, that’s exactly what happened with this one. Sad but true!
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B is for #BringbackourGirls truly Parul! 🙂 Proud and appreciate you bringing incidents as such into limelight using your space! 🙂 We can make a difference, we need to start! 🙂 Such a long time and I shudder to wonder about the days.. just can’t! Hope for a better future, world! Truly Appreciate you writing and spending the required effort Parul!
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Good for you, Parul. I’ve shared this with over 600 people on Facebook…Hope the word spreads. Keep talking!!!
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Wow! Thank you so much! You are awesome!
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You did the hard work. I just passed it on.
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Oh SO sad! You’re right! I totally forgot about that: only a number were returned. Such a shame and a crime. I wonder if Amnesty International or change.org are or can get involved…. ❤
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Even I don’t know that. I know that UN and other countries did put some pressure but it was not enough..
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So sad, sometimes I wonder if the rest of the world is desensitised or just feels helpless. Sending you and the girls you are campaigning for lots of strength, love and success in finding their way home safely.
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Thank you!! Appreciate it!
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The terror their families must going through… we want to do something… but so helpless at times 😦
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Yes – so much pain every single day!!
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Unfortunately, these girls seem to have been lost in time away from the media and the government’s eyes. No one seems to know about their exact whereabouts and the pain each of the parents has suffered, increases with every passing day.
Wonder how treating innocent children in such inhumane fashion helps to further the goals of those who captured them :(.
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😦 😦
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i can feel the pain and suffering of both girls and their family members but feel helpless. .what i can do – raise voice with you .
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May be you can take up the School Girls’ March on April 14 in the school and talk to Father about it..
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