Parents of the freed
Chibok girls are divided on how best to reintegrate their daughters back into
the society. Nigeria's government says it has the consent from the parents but
some are unhappy with the limited access.
Access to the rescued Chibok girls
has proven to be very difficult especially for their parents. The Nigerian
government says it is looking after the 103 girls because it wants to
offer them proper rehabilitation. However, Hosea Tsambido Abana, chairman
of the Chibok community, told DW, the arrangement may cause problems in
the future.
"One of the indices of rehabilitation is having free
access, especially to the people they were together with before the
abduction," Abana said. According to him there should have been a way
of meeting the girls once during their monthly community meeting. This
would help to build a relationship and see whether they are ready to be
assimilated into the community or not.
"Now they are kept under secured conditions. Parents can
see them, but how long? Even if the parent came to [the capital] Abuja, they
see them under security guard, they can't even talk freely with their own
parents," Abana added.
Where should the Chibok
girls stay?
On the other hand, some of the parents said that they were
comfortable with their daughters being in the hands of the Nigerian government.
Ruth Amos was one of the first girls to be released. Her Father Amos Mustapha
initially complained about not being given access to her daughter. That has
since changed.
"They promised us that if they wipe
out Boko Haram in three months, our daughters would come home, but they
couldn't do so due to the security situation." Mustapha told DW. He
said he had no problem with being given access to his daughter every
three months. "Let them continue with their studies, so that we can all
forget what happened in the past."
According to the Nigerian government the girls are in their
custody with the full consent of their parents. Currently, Nigeria's Minister
for Women Affairs, Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan is the one responsible for the freed
Chibok girls. In response to the accusations that the government denied the
parents' access to their daughters, Al-Hassan said that parents had been coming
in and out to see the girls.
"We don't have to announce to people that the parents of
the girls are coming, they come in and go at their own will." She said
that the girls were staying at the center to do the programs willingly, and
with the consent of their parents. "There is no compulsion. If any
girl wants to go home today, she's free to go back. But all of them are happily
staying here and undergoing the program." Al-Hassan said.
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