Por que o sequestro das alunas da Nigéria deveria importar para você?

Os sequestradores pedem repetidamente pelo fim da "educação ocidental".
"As garotas deveriam ir e se casar ao invés de ir para a escola".

Terrorism isn't isolated

Just imagine if 276 girls had been kidnapped in the United States. The response would be mass outrage and a forceful demand for a response.

As borders become more irrelevant for terrorists, the whole world needs to take notice of the likes of Boko Haram.

"We need to take ownership as if this happened in Chicago or this happened in Washington, D.C.," said Nicole Lee, outgoing president of the TransAfrica Forum. "We need to be talking about this. ... 

We need to make sure our own government is helping in any way that we can."

What the Boko Haram has set out to do in Africa's most populous nation is as heinous as the havoc the Taliban is wreaking.

"They actually originated as a group called the Nigerian Taliban, which kind of explains where they're coming from," said CNN's national security analyst Peter Bergen. "They are aiming to impose Taliban-style rule on much of Nigeria, particularly in the north where they are based."

The group's name itself means "Western education is sinful" in the local Hausa language. Its aim is to impose a stricter enforcement of Sharia law. The group especially opposes the education of women.

Under its version of Sharia law, women should be at home raising children and looking after their husbands, not at school learning to read and write.

[..,]

In November, the militant group abducted dozens of Christian girls and women, most of whom were later rescued by the military deep in a forest in Maiduguri. At the time of their rescue, some were pregnant or had children, and others had been forcibly converted to Islam and married off to their kidnappers.

Officials told CNN the Obama administration is sharing intelligence with Nigerian authorities and could provide other assistance, but there is no plan to send U.S. troops.

A group of U.S. senators from both parties has introduced a resolution calling for the United States to help the Nigerian government improve school security and go after Boko Haram.

The resolution stops short of calling for sending American troops. Instead, it urges "timely civilian assistance" from the United States and allied African nations to help rescue the abducted students.

Rights groups are therefore heartened at the groundswell of support, with the globally trending hashtag #BringBackOurGirls.

Crowds from Los Angeles to London rallied over the weekend.

"I think one of the most beautiful things that has happened is people are taking the hashtag, putting them in front of them and saying, 'Bring back our girls,'" Lee said. "I think people are doing that. It's catching fire."