UN Women calls for safe return of women and children abducted in Nigeria

UN Women expresses grave concern at the alleged attack by Boko Haram in the village of Gumsuri in northern Nigeria, with initial reports of more than 30 killed and about 200 women and children abducted. These victims are now part of the ongoing horror that captured the world’s attention with the kidnapping of the Chibok girls from their school eight months ago. It is a stark reminder of the deliberate targeting of women and girls’ rights by extremist groups, and the ongoing impunity that accompanies this violence in northern Nigeria and across the globe. In the brutal shooting on Tuesday at the Army Public School in Peshawar, Pakistan more than 140 people were killed, mostly children, by the Taliban.

UN Women calls for renewed commitment and urgent action to secure the safe return of those abducted in Nigeria and elsewhere, as well as institution of measures to protect the rights of women and girls, as well as men and boys, to education, justice and security.