Yahoo Lifestyle Celebrities support #BringBackOurGirls
Cara Delevingne.
It’s now been nearly a month since 276 Nigerian schoolgirls were abducted from their classroom by notorious terror group Boko Haram.
Guilty of nothing more than wanting an education, three of them have already perished, some have been sold into slavery and the fate of many more remains unknown.
A social media campaign to help bring awareness to the girls has been growing momentum in recent weeks, with #BringBackOurGirls and ‘Real Men Don’t Buy Girls’ trending on Twitter.
Michelle Obama.
Anne Hathaway, Justin Timberlake and Cara Delevingne are just three of the latest celebrities to bring their voices to the cause, with stars including Angelina Jolie, Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama also publically declaring their support this week.
“Our prayers are with the missing Nigerian girls and their families. It’s time to #BringBackOurGirls,” tweeted Michelle Obama.
While the Nigerian government has so far done little to find the girls, just days ago President Obama offered military and intelligence to help locate them.
“Obviously, it’s a heartbreaking situation, outrageous situation,” Obama told ABC on May 6.
Alicia Keys.
Philanthropic star Angelina Jolie yesterday called the kidnapping an “unthinkable cruelty”.
“Sadly of course there is real evil in the world, you watch the news and you see all of the people suffering and so much cruelty,” Jolie said at a recent press conference in Paris.
“And it’s unthinkable cruelty like these girls that were kidnapped in Nigeria. Unthinkable cruelty and evil.”
Malala Yousafzai.
Malala Yousafzai, the young activist who was shot in the head by the Taliban for standing up for girls' education, called on the Nigerian government to take the schooling of girls seriously, warning a whole generation could be lost.
"It's every girls' right to go to school to get [an] education and now it's the duty of the government to protect them.”
"If we forget about these girls it means we are forgetting our own sister, our own people."
Anne Hathaway and Adam Shulman.
Hillary Clinton also tweeted her support for the cause, referring to education in any form as a “basic right”.
"Access to education is a basic right & an unconscionable reason to target innocent girls. We must stand up to terrorism."
Justin Timberlake.
A number of male celebrities have also called attention to the girls’ plight by reviving the ‘Real Men Don’t Buy Girls’ campaign made famous by Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore 2011.
Originally used by the couple to bring awareness to human trafficking, it seems a fitting slogan to bring back into focus.
To call for attention to the issue and help put pressure on the Nigerian government to protect girls in schools, use the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls.
RELATED:
Angelina Jolie speaks out about Nigerian schoolgirls
