--- description: Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai wrote an open letter to the 219 Nigerian schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram militants, one year after the girls were seized from a boarding school in the rural northeastern town of Chibok. title: Read Malala Yousafzai's Letter to 'Brave Sisters' Abducted by Boko Haram image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte5de1dcf3814cc50/6987eaf355a8596732a898de/456999376.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Nigeria](/tag/nigeria/) ## Nigeria Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Read Malala Yousafzai's Letter to 'Brave Sisters' Abducted by Boko Haram  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 14, 2015 4:58 PM CUT  Malala Yousafzai holds a bouquet of flowers during after being announced as a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, on October 10, 2014 in Birmingham, England. Malala Yousafzai holds a bouquet of flowers during after being announced as a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, on October 10, 2014 in Birmingham, England.Christopher Furlong—Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 14, 2015 4:58 PM CUT Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai wrote an open letter to the 219 Nigerian schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram militants, one year after the girls were [seized](http://time.com/3820857/chibok-girls-anniversary/ "undefined") from a boarding school in the rural northeastern town of Chibok. “On this first anniversary of your captivity, I write to you with a message of solidarity, love and hope,” the young Pakistani activist [wrote](https://medium.com/stronger-than/malala-s-open-letter-to-the-abducted-chibok-schoolgirls-4af420a5d19d "undefined") in a letter posted to Medium, which she also [read aloud](https://soundcloud.com/malala-fund/malala-reads-her-open-letter-to-the-kidnapped-nigerian-schoolgirls "undefined") in a SoundCloud audio recording. Yousafzai described her own meetings with Nigerian officials, in which she urged Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan to secure their release. “I am among many people pressuring them to make sure you are freed,” she wrote. She also described emotional encounters with grieving parents and survivors of the attack. “Last July, I spent my 17th birthday in Nigeria with some of your parents and five of your classmates who escaped the kidnapping. Your parents are grief-stricken. They love you, and they miss you,” she wrote. She added that girls who had escaped the attack received full scholarships through the Malala Fund to complete their secondary school studies. “We hope to someday extend that same scholarship to all 219 of you, when you return home,” Yousafzai wrote. [Read the full letter at Medium.](https://medium.com/stronger-than/malala-s-open-letter-to-the-abducted-chibok-schoolgirls-4af420a5d19d "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3821235/malala-yousafzai-writes-letter-brave-sisters-abducted-boko-haram/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3821235/malala-yousafzai-writes-letter-brave-sisters-abducted-boko-haram/"},"headline":"Read Malala Yousafzai's Letter to 'Brave Sisters' Abducted by Boko Haram","datePublished":"2015-04-14T16:58:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T06:23:20.395Z","description":"\"To my brave sisters, the kidnapped schoolgirls of Chibok,\" she wrote","url":"https://time.com/3821235/malala-yousafzai-writes-letter-brave-sisters-abducted-boko-haram/","keywords":["Nigeria"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte5de1dcf3814cc50/6987eaf355a8596732a898de/456999376.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte5de1dcf3814cc50/6987eaf355a8596732a898de/456999376.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Malala Yousafzai Wins Nobel Peace Prize","caption":"Malala Yousafzai Wins Nobel Peace Prize","creditText":"Christopher Furlong—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/nigeria/","name":"Nigeria"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3821235/malala-yousafzai-writes-letter-brave-sisters-abducted-boko-haram/","name":"Read Malala Yousafzai's Letter to 'Brave Sisters' Abducted by Boko Haram"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Nigeria: Victims of Abductions Tell Their Stories","description":"Nigeria: Victims of Abductions Tell Their Stories","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/FKUfwoSE/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-10-27T16:34:27.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/FKUfwoSE.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3821235/malala-yousafzai-writes-letter-brave-sisters-abducted-boko-haram/","duration":"PT4M27S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3821235/malala-yousafzai-writes-letter-brave-sisters-abducted-boko-haram/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```