Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Expresses Outrage Over Abduction of Nigerian Girls
CHICAGO, Ill. – Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority condemns the abduction of hundreds of Nigerian girls and joins the worldwide rallying cry to “Bring Back Our Girls!”
Speaking on behalf of the Sorority’s 265,000 members and those in 985 chapters worldwide, Carolyn House Stewart, International President, denounced the abductions and declared that the Sorority fully supports U.S. and international efforts to ensure the safe return of these girls.
“It has been almost three weeks since the barbaric violence and abduction of the girls from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Nigeria. A quick response is required, which includes a plan to deter future acts of this nature,” declared Stewart.
According to the Associated Press, the girls, ages 15-19, are thought to have been taken across Nigeria’s borders to be sold into marriage.
This incident is a prime example of human exploitation, an issue that Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. has educated communities about through its M.I.N.D.S. campaign against human trafficking. Since the launch of the M.I.N.D.S. campaign in January of 2013, Alpha Kappa Alpha has consistently raised awareness about human exploitation. Stewart stated, “The sorority has used community forums to raise awareness and advocate for stricter enforcement and stiffer penalties. This international travesty powerfully punctuates the need for our program initiative.”
“This is a pivotal moment for the world as the future of young girls everywhere is at stake,” Stewart emphasized. “We need to unite and send a strong message that the lives of all girls are valued and their quest for education and access to education merits global support. We need to continue to raise awareness, deter any elements that threaten progress, and decry the acts in Nigeria and elsewhere through our words and actions.”
On Tuesday, Suspected Boko Haram gunmen kidnapped eight additional girls from a village near one of the Islamists’ strongholds in northeastern Nigeria overnight, police and residents said.
The abduction of the girls, aged 12 to 15, follows the kidnapping of more than 200 other schoolgirls by the militant group last month, whom it has threatened to sell into slavery.
Lazarus Musa, a resident of the village of Warabe, told Reuters that armed men had opened fire during the raid.
“They were many, and all of them carried guns. They came in two vehicles painted in army color. They started shooting in our village,” Musa said by telephone from the village in the hilly Gwoza area, Boko Haram’s main base.
A police source, who asked not to be identified, said the girls were taken away on trucks, along with looted livestock and food.
