The Nigerian government's silence in the month since the Islamist militia group Boko Haram kidnapped more than 200 girls from a secondary school has inspired distraught Nigerian citizens to create the Twitter hashtag #BringBackOurGirls. But can such “hashtag activism” make a real difference?
ABUJA – In the month since the Islamist militia group Boko Haram kidnapped more than 200 girls from a secondary school in the Chibok Local Government Area of Nigeria’s Borno State, the authorities have maintained a stunning silence. This has inspired distraught Nigerian citizens to create the Twitter hashtag #BringBackOurGirls, in the hope that the simple demand would spur their government into action. In a country where citizens have few options to hold officials to account, can “hashtag activism” make a real difference?
ABUJA – In the month since the Islamist militia group Boko Haram kidnapped more than 200 girls from a secondary school in the Chibok Local Government Area of Nigeria’s Borno State, the authorities have maintained a stunning silence. This has inspired distraught Nigerian citizens to create the Twitter hashtag #BringBackOurGirls, in the hope that the simple demand would spur their government into action. In a country where citizens have few options to hold officials to account, can “hashtag activism” make a real difference?