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Girls and young women in northeastern Nigeria suffered horrific abuse as prisoners of Boko Haram, with many survivors subsequently being arbitrarily detained and subsequently ignored by Nigerian authorities. Now, these girls and young women are sending a clear message that they want to rebuild their lives.
For more than a decade, Boko Haram has been using these girls and young women as “wives,” forcing them into marriage and subjecting them to years of domestic servitude and sexual violence, including forced pregnancies.
Today, on International Day of the Girl, Amnesty International renews its call on Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian government to empower girls and young women by ensuring access to health care, education and livelihood support. Start a petition.
Call for support for Boko Haram girl survivors
Join us in calling on Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian government to empower girls and young women by ensuring access to health care, education and livelihood support.
Earlier this year, Amnesty International published a major report documenting how girls have survived Boko Haram’s human trafficking and crimes against humanity: Help us build our lives: Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria.・Published “Girl Survivors of Haram and Military Abuse”.
“I want to start my life over again.”
Many girls and young women who fled Boko Haram return to government-controlled areas with unique needs. The crimes they endure have long-term effects that are specific to their age and gender, including health complications, lack of access to education, and stigma and rejection from their families and communities.
Survivor EE from Maiduguri, Borno State, told Amnesty International: I want to get out of this camp and start over again. ”
HM, a survivor who spent almost 10 years as a prisoner of Boko Haram, added: I need so many things that I don’t know where to start. ”
Despite some family reunification efforts, the Nigerian government has failed to ensure the physical and mental recovery and reintegration of families as required by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, to which Nigeria is a party. has largely failed to promote. State political party.
These girls and young women have found the courage to speak out and are now claiming their lives back. The Nigerian government must support their demands for health care, education and livelihood opportunities.
Sign the petition to support #EmpowerOurGirls.
