The Human Right Chief of The United Nations, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein has urged Nigeria to show compassion and make it easier for women and girls who became pregnant in Boko Haram captivity to have access to abortions.
Boko Haram militants are estimated by
Amnesty International to have kidnapped more than 2,000 women and girls in
northeastern Nigeria since the beginning of 2014, including the 276 girls
seized from their school in Chibok last year in a kidnapping that sparked global
outrage.
"During their captivity, lasting
in many cases for months or even years, women and girls have been sexually
enslaved, raped and forced into so-called 'marriages'," Zeid Ra'ad Al
Hussein told the UN Human Rights council in a special session on Boko Haram.
"Many survivors of these horrific
experiences are now pregnant by their rapists ... and several reportedly wish
to terminate these unwanted pregnancies," he said.
But in Nigeria, abortion is only legal when the life of the woman is at
risk, Zeid said, warning that a lack of access would only add to the horrendous
suffering the former captives had been through."I strongly urge the most compassionate possible interpretation of the current regulations in Nigeria to include the risk of suicide and risks to mental health for women and young girls who have
Suffered such appalling cruelty," he said.
He also called on authorities to help
women and girls freed from Boko Haram enslavement, who often face
stigmatisation, to reintegrate into their communities.
YN
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