Nigerian Girls abducted by Boko Haram Speak Out for First Time

The Nigerian girls, abducted by Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria, have spoken out about their experiences.
“One of them raped me,” says one girl who’s identity must be hidden for her safety. “I kept pleading for him to leave me alone because I had my baby.”
BattaBox has interviewed Mausi Segun, a Human Rights Watch Researcher about her time with the girls – who were threatened by Boko Haram if they ever spoke out to the media.
“It was amazing to see the way the girls exhibited the signs of trauma,” says Mausi. “Sometimes just repeatedly hitting themselves as they were retelling the story of how they were abducted or when they recollect that their fellow students, or as they call them their sisters – still remain in Boko Haram captivity.”
Human Rights Watch estimates at least 500 girls and boys have been kidnapped by Boko Haram since 2009. Most notably 276 girls from Chibok village which sparked the #BringBackOurGirls campaign.
“The numbers are increasing,” says Mausi. “The figure we have of 500 is very conservative. The victims we spoke to described seeing hundreds of women and children in Boko Haram’s camps.”
The girls are subjected to forced marriage, sexual violence, radicalisation and violence against other victims.
“When they wanted me to kill the first man, my body was shaking and I fell to the ground,” says another girl of her experience with Boko Haram.



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