Janice Hahn: “My colleague from New York just recently talked about education and why it is so important and what a great tool it is…”

“My colleague from New York just recently talked about education and why it is so important and what a great tool it is to fight poverty and provide for the future of our young people, which is why what I am going to say is even more serious. In the middle of the night on April 15, hundreds of girls were abducted from their beds in a school in Nigeria. The militant terrorist group Boko Haram is now planning to sell these young women into sex slavery for just $12 a girl. I have just gotten back from the Nigerian Embassy. My colleagues and I met with Nigerian officials for updates on this ongoing tragedy and to stand in unity behind strengthened efforts to bring these girls back home to their families. As a mother and a grandmother, I cannot imagine the pain the parents of these girls are experiencing. Many of these parents are terrified to speak to the media for fear of what might happen to their daughters. I appreciate our President's new commitment to help the Nigerian Government bring these girls home. These girls were pursuing their education, despite threats from a terrorist group bent on preventing the education of women. We cannot stand idly by while fear and violence oppress the freedom and dreams of women around the world. ____________________”