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Malala Urges the World to Remember Nigerian Schoolgirls

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Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai called on the world Sunday to remember the Nigerian schoolgirls who were abducted by the militant group Boko Haram last year and remain missing 300 days later.

“Nigerian leaders and the international community can and must do much more to resolve this crisis and change their weak response to date,” Malala said in a statement marking 300 days since the Chibok schoolgirls were captured. “If these girls were the children of politically or financially powerful parents, much more would be done to free them. But they come from an impoverished area of northeast Nigeria and sadly little has changed since they were kidnapped.”

“These young women risked everything to get an education that most of us take for granted,” she continued. “I will not forget my sisters.”

Islamist extremist group Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from a school in northeast Nigeria last April, triggering global outrage expressed through the #BringBackOurGirls campaign. Although a few girls managed to escape during the kidnapping, the vast majority of the schoolgirls remain missing. Women who have escaped Boko Haram tell of the brutalities they experienced at the hands of the militants, including forced marriage and being sold into sex slavery.

See Malala's Life In Photos

Malala Yousafzai
Malala Yousafzai raises her hands with some of the escaped kidnapped school girls of government secondary school Chibok during a news conference in Abuja, Nigeria on July 14, 2014. Olamikan Gbemiga—AP
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Malala Yousafzai walks alongside Syrian refugee Mazoon Rakan after attending a press conference at the Zaatari refugee camp near the Jordanian border with Syria on Feb. 18, 2014. AFP/Getty Images
Pakistani teenage activist Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by the Taliban for campaigning for girls' education, attends an award ceremony to receive her 2013 Sakharov Prize in Strasbourg
Malala Yousafzai attends an award ceremony to receive her 2013 Sakharov Prize at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France on Nov. 20, 2013.Vincent Kessler—Reuters
Pakistani teenage activist Yousafzai poses for pictures before an event launching her memoir "I Am Malala" in London
Malala Yousafzai poses for pictures before an event launching her memoir "I Am Malala" at the Southbank Centre in London on Oct. 20, 2013. Olivia Harris—Reuters/Corbis
Queen Elizabeth II Receives Malala At Buckingham Palace
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip meet Malala Yousafzai during a Reception for Youth, Education and the Commonwealth at Buckingham Palace in London on Oct. 18, 2013.Yui Mok—Getty Images
In this handout image provided by the White House, the Obama family meets with Malala Yousafzai in the Oval Office on Oct. 11, 2013 in Washington, DC.
The Obama family meets with Malala Yousafzai in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Oct. 11, 2013.The White House/Getty Images
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Malala Yousafzai raises a trophy after being honored with the International Children's Peace Prize in the Netherlands, on Sept. 6, 2013. AFP/Getty Images
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Malala Yousafzai was on the cover of TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People list in 2013.TIME
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Pakistani student Malala Yousafzai speaks before the United Nations Youth Assembly in New york on July 12, 2013.Stan Honda—AFP/Getty Images
Family Of Malala Yousafzai Arrive In UK
Malala Yousafzai sits up in her hospital bed with her father and her two younger brothers, on Oct. 26, 2012, in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The 15 year-old Malala was being treated after she was shot by the Taliban in Pakistan two weeks earlier. Getty Images
Sharia Law in Pakistan's Swat Valley and North-West Frontier Province
Malala Yousafzai lives in the Swat Valley with her family seen here on March 26, 2009 in Peshawar, Pakistan. Veronique de Viguerie—Getty Images

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau released a video last May taking responsibility for the abduction and saying that he would “sell them on the market.”

The 300-day anniversary coincides with the upcoming Nigerian presidential elections, which are increasingly threatened by the Boko Haram insurgency. This week, the government announced they would delay the elections because of instability in the northeast part of the country, largely controlled by Boko Haram.

“Politicians now running for office for next week’s elections should not only demonstrate their empathy but finally take some responsibility for this tragedy,” Malala said. “The leaders of Nigeria should commit to work together and make the case of the Chibok girls a priority in their first 100 days in office, as well as the education of every Nigerian child.”

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Write to Charlotte Alter at charlotte.alter@time.com