"A Better World is Indeed Possible": CAMFED Founder Ann Cotton in The Huffington Post
CAMFED Founder and President, Ann Cotton, wrote a recent Op-Ed in The Huffington Post discussing the immense impact of girls’ education in Africa in light of the tragic Boko Haram kidnappings in Nigeria.
The shocking kidnap of more than 200 girls in northern Nigeria has focused global attention on the dangers faced by young women in Africa. Like millions around the world, I hope and pray for their safe return.
The aim of militants such as Boko Haram, whose very name means “Western education is a sin,” is to sew hatred and enmity between Muslim and Christian communities, which have co-existed largely peacefully for generations. Education, in particular the education of women, is a threat to Boko Haram’s goals. That is why the group carried out this appalling act.
Over the past 20 years, I have seen the transformative effect that education has in the lives of young women, and their communities. The kidnapping of these girls reminds us how important this work is.