ABUJA // Malala Yousafzai, who survived being shot in the head by the Taliban for campaigning for girls’ education, has pledged while on a trip to Nigeria to help free a group of school girls abducted by Islamist militants.
On Sunday, Malala, 16, met parents of the more than 200 girls who were kidnapped by militant group Boko Haram from a school in the northeastern village of Chibok in April.
Boko Haram say they are fighting to establish an Islamic state in religiously mixed Nigeria. The group has killed thousands and abducted hundreds since launching an uprising in 2009.
Some of the parents broke down into tears as Malala spoke at a hotel in the capital.
“I can see those girls as my sisters ... and I’m going to speak up for them until they are released,” said Malala, who celebrates her 17th birthday today in Nigeria, where she is scheduled to meet the president, Goodluck Jonathan.
“I’m going to participate actively in the ‘bring back our girls’ campaign to make sure that they return safely and they continue their education.”
The girls’ abduction drew unprecedented international attention to the war in Nigeria’s north-east and the growing security risk that Boko Haram poses to Nigeria.
* Reuters
