Nigerian activist Hadiza Bala Usman has urged people around the world not to forget the schoolgirls abducted from Borno, northern Nigeria in April, who are still being held by Islamist militant group Boko Haram. In a video interview with former Soroptimist International UN Representative Yoko Komori Olson at the UN DPI/NGO conference in New York, she explains that the whereabouts and situation of the girls is still unknown, although there have been many rumours and unconfirmed reports.

Watch the film here or view it on youtube:

“If the girls aren’t rescued, no parent will allow their female child to go to school.
The story that was initially buried in the left hand columns of
newspapers and tagged at the bring back our girls end of news reports
has now been given the recognition it deserves thanks to #BringBackOurGirls which has been retweeted over 800,000 times. We will keep our
voice alive, until we bring back our girls".

Soroptimists in Nigeria and around the world have been campaigning to keep the plight of the Chibok girls in the public eye. Read the statement and updates from SI Nigeria. 

SI believes that safe and accessible education for girls and women at all ages must be a primary goal in the Post 2015 Development Agenda and will be lobbying for this to be emphasised in the  outcome document from the UN DPI/NGO conference. Read more about Soroptimist International involvement and advocacy at the UN DPI/NGO conference, where  Hadiza Bala Usman is a guest speaker.