STOP Human Trafficking

"Over 270 Nigerian girls between 15 and 18 years old were kidnapped from their school two weeks ago by Boko Haram militants, a terrorist group whose name translates to "Western education is sinful." 

The school's principal, Hajiya Asabe Ali Kwambula, told the New York Times yesterday that 53 girls managed to escape while 223 are still missing. 

The girls have reportedly been taken to a terrorist camp deep in the forest, although new reports have come in this week from remote villages that some of the girls have been “auctioned off to Boko Haram members for 2,000 Naira” -- about $12 -- for forced "marriages" or sex slavery.



Nigerians have been holding mass protests this week calling on President Goodluck Jonathan to deploy every means possible to find the girls. You can join the international call to action to bring back the girls by supporting two petitions that have been building momentum:

- A Change.org petition to President Jonathan athttp://chn.ge/1ioL496

- A TakePart petition to Nigerian officials and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at http://bit.ly/1rUgsPa

You can learn more about the kidnappings in these articles in the NY Times at http://nyti.ms/1rSD7eZ or in the New Yorker at http://nyr.kr/1mZgi9F

While this kidnapping is shocking in its scale, the kidnapping and trafficking of girls and women is a tremendous global problem. 

The U.S. State Department estimates that between 600,000 and 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders each year and 80% of those trafficked are women and girls, mostly for sexual exploitation.

To learn more about this problem and how communities are fighting against it, we highly recommend "Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide" at http://www.amightygirl.com/half-the-sky and the accompanying documentary, for ages 13 and up, athttp://www.amightygirl.com/half-the-sky-documentary

The excellent film, "Girl Rising," also explores the challenges faced by many girls in developing countries athttp://www.amightygirl.com/girl-rising

To learn about several organizations working to end sex trafficking, visit Half the Sky's resource page athttp://bit.ly/1lEYjTS"