Malala Yousufzai`s birthday wish: Bring back Nigeria girls kidnapped by Boko Haram

Zee Media Bureau/Supriya Jha Abuja: Pakistani braveheart Malala Yousufzai, who shot to fame for speaking up against the Taliban and surviving a bullet shot in her head by the militants, has vouched that she will continue standing up for the cause of more than 200 kidnapped school girls from Nigeria`s Chibok. Malala, who is in Nigeria, would turn 17 today and on her birthday, she wishes that all the girl kidnapped by the militant group Boko Haram are brough back to their native country soon and alive.

Malala on Sunday met the parents of over 200 kidnapped schoolgirls and also those girls who had managed to escape the militants` captivity. Speaking in a hotel in Abuja yesterday, after meeting the devastated parents, Malala assured them that she would actively participate in the `Bring back our girls` campaign, so that the girls return safely and continue their education. "I can feel ... the circumstances under which you are suffering," Malala said. "It`s quite difficult for a parent to know that their daughter is in great danger. My birthday wish this year is ... bring back our girls now, and alive," she was quoted as saying by the Reuters. “Bring Back Our Girls” is a campaign that was launched in a bid to draw attention to the cause of kidnapped girls. With the likes of US First Lady Michelle Obama and Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie supporting the activism, the campaign gathered momentum and people across the world, holding the banners of “Bring back our Girls” protested against the Boko Haram. Malala is set to meet Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday and discuss the issue of kidnapped girls. The Boko Haram has become a threat of monstrous proportion for Nigeria as they continue frequent attacks and kidnappings. Malala Yousufzai, a teen activist and campaigner for girls` education had earlier too, condemned the girl`s` abductions by the Boko Haram and said that the militant group should first read Quran as they do not understand Islam.  Speaking to the BBC, Malala had expressed sadness over the tragic abductions and said that the people must speak up against the abduction of more than 200 girls in Nigeria as silence will only embolden the militants to stage more such incidents. “We must speak up... or such things will happen more and more”, said Malala who has been hailed as a champion of girls` rights and education worldwide.  Calling the abducted girls as her sisters in prison, Malala added that the Boko Haram should first read the Quran as the holy book ordains all to gain knowledge and spreads the message of peace and brotherhood.  Malala`s suggestion to the brutal militant group was in response to a video wherein the Boko Haram militant Abubakar Shekau had said that Allah had instructed him to sell the girls in the human market.  Malala, who was shot by the Taliban in 2012 for promoting girls` education and writing against the militants in Swat Valley, has won the European Union`s prestigious human rights award and also been nominated for Nobel Peace Prize. The April 14 kidnapping of more than 270 girls from a government school in Chibok drew internation outrage with the US President Barack Obama called it “heartbreaking”.