First Lady Michelle Obama takes over weekly address to discuss kidnapped Nigerian school girls

Like millions of people across the globe, my husband and I are outraged and heartbroken over the kidnapping of more than 200 Nigerian girls from their school dormitory in the middle of the night.

This unconscionable act was committed by a terrorist group determined to keep these girls from getting an education – grown men attempting to snuff out the aspirations of young girls.

First Lady Michelle Obama on this Mother's Day weekend took over the weekly address slot to discuss America's and the world's response to the heinous kidnappings of Nigerian school girls. And she made it clear her husband intends to act in this tragedy, one that hits close to home for the first couple, she said, as the parents of two daughters.

More than that, she saluted the bravery of the Nigerian girls and all those millions of others who are determined to get an education even with threats of violence and death hanging over their heads.

The girls themselves also knew full well the dangers they might encounter.

Their school had recently been closed due to terrorist threats…but these girls still insisted on returning to take their exams.

They were so determined to move to the next level of their education…so determined to one day build careers of their own and make their families and communities proud.  

And what happened in Nigeria was not an isolated incident…it’s a story we see every day as girls around the world risk their lives to pursue their ambitions.

And she hoped those in the same cohort in the United States think long and hard about the value of education, given what these girls have been risking in undertaking it themselves.

I hope that any young people in America who take school for granted – any young people who are slacking off or thinking of dropping out – I hope they will learn the story of these girls and recommit themselves to their education.