Wednesday 18 June 2014

#bringbackourgirls

In April of 2014 276 Nigerian girls were kidnapped from what is suppose to be a safe place, their school. The girls were kidnapped by Boko Haram, an Islamic Jihadist and Takfiri terrorist organization based in northeast Nigeria. This group is opposed to westernization and the education of  women. This terrorist group began to convert these girls to Islam and sell them into marriage. When the girls were located, the Nigerian Chief of Defense Staff did not allow for a forceful rescue in fear of collateral damage. Due to the controversy of how to deal with this situation and bring back the girls home safely, parents and other people around the world displayed their frustration over social media. This was very helpful as many of the mothers did not want to speak publicly during protests to ensure their child was not receiving the punishment. On may 3rd and 4th, many protests were held around the world and at the same time, the hashtag #bringbackourgirls spread globally. The hashtag has become a form of activism in order to pressure America into helping rescue these girls. “We’re being tweeted into combat,” an anonymous military official told CBC News. #bringbackourgirls is putting pressure on both Nigeria as well as other countries the more popular and globalized it becomes. By sending a strong united message over social media, the hashtag could live up to its purpose and change could happen through a push of the "Tweet" to awake global consciousness.  



 






 
 
 
(Michelle Obama as well as other powerful celebrities posted pictures with this hashtag which increased the use of this hashtag even more.)

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