The First Lady, Aisha Buhari, has called on all stakeholders to continue to exert their different levels of influence and bring the abductions of schoolgirls to an end, breaking four months of silence on social media.
The wife of President Muhammadu Buhari made the call in a message tweeted on her Twitter handle @aishambuhari on the occasion of this year’s International Women’s Day.
It is the first time the handle has posted since 25 November 2020, when it retweeted a message from the First Lady’s Future Assured handle to back the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
She stressed that the rising cases of abductions, especially schoolgirls must end to assure all and sundry that girls would be safe anywhere they might find themselves.
She regretted that women and girls in Nigeria had continued to suffer abductions both in the hands of insurgents and bandits apart from the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their lives.
#InternationalWomensDay #ChooseToChallenge pic.twitter.com/yClO3I8XUt
— Aisha M. Buhari (@aishambuhari) March 8, 2021
The first lady’s message read: “Today marks the 2021 edition of International Women’s Day. The day offers yet another opportunity for humanity to review and reflect progress made on issues of women and girls.
“This year’s theme: Women In Leadership: Achieving on Equal Future in a COVID-19 World is a strong call to appreciate the efforts of women and girls in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.
“COVID-19 has had a huge impact on women; disrupted education and careers, lost jobs, descent into poverty, and proliferation of domestic violence. Many have also died or suffered due to lack of access to basic information on the pandemic. It is therefore important, not just to continue spreading the message of the COVID-19 protocol, but to remember and support those who have been affected negatively by the pandemic in one way or another.
“Away from COVID-19, women and girls in Nigeria have continued to suffer abductions both in the hands of insurgents and bandits.
“As a mother, I share the sorrow and agony of the victims and their families. I am also not unaware of the impact that these abductions could have in reverting many successes we have hitherto achieved, especially in terms of girl-child education and early marriages.
“I call on all stakeholders to continue to exert their different levels of influence and bring these abductions to an end and to assure us that girls are safe anywhere they may find themselves.
“My best wishes to women all over the world for their resilience, hard work, and commitment to the progress of humanity. Happy International Women’s Day.”
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