Today, August 27, 500 days have passed since the abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Nigeria’s north-eastern city of Chibok. Although 57 of these girls were able to escape, nothing has been heard of the remaining 219 since May last year. The Chibok Girls’ Abduction is yet another manifestation of the constant physical and psychological violence suffered by many women and children around the world, as well as their abuse, discrimination and subordination by the Jihadist terrorist group.

 

Many organizations, institutions and entities have condemned these human rights violations, including those inflicted upon the women and children of Nigeria, and have appealed to the international community to develop policy to guarantee basic rights across the globe. The Catalan Government, through its General Directorate for Development Cooperation, has joined the Call for a special Global Week of Action in commemoration of Day 500 of Chibok Girls’ Abduction to, on the one hand prioritise the safe return of the 219 remaining schoolgirls, and on the other, to put in place the necessary international mechanisms guaranteeing women and children’s rights for which without them the eradication of the remaining variables of inequality would not be possible.