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Address: The First Lady Marks Mother’s Day and Speaks Out on the Tragic
Kidnapping in Nigeria
May 10, 2014
Hello everyone, I’m Michelle
Obama, and on this Mother’s Day weekend, I want to take a moment to honor all
the mothers out there and wish you a Happy Mother’s Day.
I also want to speak to you about
an issue of great significance to me as a First Lady, and more importantly, as
the mother of two young daughters.
Like millions of people across
the globe, my husband and I are outraged and heartbroken over the kidnapping of
more than 200 Nigerian girls from their school dormitory in the middle of the
night.
This unconscionable act was
committed by a terrorist group determined to keep these girls from getting an
education – grown men attempting to snuff out the aspirations of young girls.
And I want you to know that
Barack has directed our government to do everything possible to support the
Nigerian government’s efforts to find these girls and bring them home.
In these girls, Barack and I see
our own daughters. We see their hopes, their dreams – and we can only imagine
the anguish their parents are feeling right now.
Many of them may have been
hesitant to send their daughters off to school, fearing that harm might come
their way.
But they took that risk because
they believed in their daughters’ promise and wanted to give them every
opportunity to succeed.
The girls themselves also knew
full well the dangers they might encounter.
Their school had recently been
closed due to terrorist threats…but these girls still insisted on returning to
take their exams.
They were so determined to move
to the next level of their education…so determined to one day build careers of
their own and make their families and communities proud.
And what happened in Nigeria was
not an isolated incident…it’s a story we see every day as girls around the
world risk their lives to pursue their ambitions.
It’s the story of girls like
Malala Yousafzai from Pakistan.
Malala spoke out for girls’
education in her community…and as a result, she was shot in the head by a
Taliban gunman while on a school bus with her classmates.
But fortunately Malala
survived…and when I met her last year, I could feel her passion and
determination as she told me that girls’ education is still her life’s mission.
As Malala said in her address to
the United Nations, she said “The terrorists thought that they would change our
aims and stop our ambitions but nothing changed in my life except this:
Weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born.”
The courage and hope embodied by
Malala and girls like her around the world should serve as a call to action.
Because right now, more than 65
million girls worldwide are not in school.
Yet, we know that girls who are
educated make higher wages, lead healthier lives, and have healthier families.
And when more girls attend secondary
school, that boosts their country’s entire economy.
So education is truly a girl’s
best chance for a bright future, not just for herself, but for her family and
her nation.
And that’s true right here in the
U.S. as well…so I hope the story of these Nigerian girls will serve as an
inspiration for every girl – and boy – in this country.
I hope that any young people in
America who take school for granted – any young people who are slacking off or
thinking of dropping out – I hope they will learn the story of these girls and
recommit themselves to their education.
These girls embody the best hope
for the future of our world…and we are committed to standing up for them not
just in times of tragedy or crisis, but for the long haul.
We are committed to giving them
the opportunities they deserve to fulfill every last bit of their God-given
potential.
So today, let us all pray for
their safe return... let us hold their families in our hearts during this very
difficult time…and let us show just a fraction of their courage in fighting to
give every girl on this planet the education that is her birthright. Thank you. |