Malala to Chibok girls' families 2 years later: 'I write this letter with a heavy heart'
"I write this letter with a heavy heart, knowing you have endured another year separated from your daughters," begins the open letter penned by human rights campaigner Malala Yousafzai to the families of the Chibok girls.
Two years ago, more than 200 young girls were kidnapped from their school in Chibok, northern Nigeria by the militant Islamist Group Boko Haram on April 14, 2014.
The group stormed the school and abducted 279 girls. Dozens of the girls escaped on their own but 219 still remain missing. For their parents, it has been a desperate wait for information.
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Their parents have not seen or heard from them since the group released a video in 2014 showing dozens of the girls wearing headscarves and holding the group's banner.
"I think of you every day since we first met two years ago – and join millions of people around the world in praying for the safety and swift return of your girls," Yousafzai wrote. "As I did last year, I call on President Buhari of Nigeria – and everyone who can help rescue the Chibok girls – to act now."
After their abduction, Yousafzai pushed for global recognition of the girls and demanded Nigerian leaders take steps to return them home. She was also targeted by militant Islamists, and barely survived being shot in the head by a member of the Taliban after advocating for education opportunities for girls.
She wrote her letter to their "dear mothers and fathers," who she has met with several times since the mass kidnapping and commended them for giving their daughters access to education.
"Parents, thank you for having the courage to send your daughters to school," she wrote. "My dream is that one day they will come home, finish their education and choose their futures for themselves."
Yousafzai questioned whether the president would push harder for information about the girls if it were one of his own children.
"Would a president give up the fight for his own daughter? These girls are just as precious to their families," Yousafzai wrote.
"I pray for the day when you can embrace your girls again."
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Megan Specia was Mashable's Assistant Real-Time News Editor and joined the team in September 2014. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism & Mass Communications from the University of New Hampshire after growing up in the Jersey 'burbs. She made her way to New York via a four year stopover in Dublin. Megan previously worked as a journalist and editor at Storyful in both Dublin and New York. Before all of that, though, her claim to fame was as head cake arranger and purveyor of all things sweet at Queen of Tarts cafe in Dublin, where she developed a serious addiction to macarons.
