United States First Lady, Michelle Obama, has called on her fellow presidential spouses from across Africa to « fight for our girls, » saying no girl should fear getting an education.

Obama alluded indirectly to the plight of schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in Chibok, Borno State, at a panel discussion with former first lady Laura Bush on the closing day of a US summit with African leaders.

« We have to fight for our girls, » she said, speaking to an audience of other first ladies attending the summit, in a nod to the Twitter activist hashtag #bringbackourgirls.

« There should never be a girl in the world who has to fear getting educated. That is something that should be intolerable to all of us. And if it’s good enough for our girls it should be good enough for every single girl in the world, » she said.

« But it’s going to take leadership like us, women like us, speaking up in our countries and making sure that young girls are not subject to abuse and are loved and valued. And until we do that we will not solve these problems, » she added.

More than 200 schoolgirls remain in captivity nearly four months after being abducted by Boko Haram who stormed a school in Chibok, Borno State on April 14.

Voltic Togo

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