At the recent WRJ Board Meeting in Oconomowoc, WI (May 16-19, 2014), the Board of Directors of Women of Reform Judaism issued this statement on the horrifying kidnapping of over 200 schoolgirls from Chibok, Nigeria by militant group Boko Haram.
WRJ has long been an advocate for rights and equality for women and girls at home and around the world. This act sheds new light on the way groups like Boko Haram (whose name translates roughly to "Western Education is a Sin) view the education of girls as a threat. WRJ decries this act, and calls on all its affiliates to action to assist the Nigerian government in rescuing the schoolgirls, and other important pathways to advocate for equality and justice for women and girls.
Here is the WRJ Board Statement:
We, the board of Directors of Women of Reform Judaism, join millions around the world and our partners in the Reform movement in expressing our horror and condemnation at the abduction of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls by the militant group Boko Haram. This is just the most recent of the many violent acts Boko Haram has perpetrated in recent years, including attacks on schools, churches, and mosques whose clerics have spoken out against religious extremism. The depravity of the recent mass abduction, and the public claims made by Boko Haram’s leader that the girls will be sold, reaches new depths of inhumanity. We call for the immediate release of these girls and for the international community to continue to work, not only for their release, but also to end violence against women around the world. The Women of Reform Judaism urges its members to:
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