Boko Haram and the Chibok Girls: Reflection

Throughout the course of the semester we attempted to discuss the complexity of Boko Haram and the Chibok schoolgirls incident in Nigeria, as well as the international and national response towards the kidnapping. Our third post discussed the release and reintegration of the girls back into society. The first post consisted of mostly summary and explanation of the facts of the kidnapping including the historical context of Nigeria and Boko Haram. We touched upon the influence of colonialism and religious political extremism as relevant motivators for the actions of Boko Haram. The second post discussed the inaction and action of the international community including the #bringbackourgirls movement. As well as the effect of media both in Nigeria and internationally. The final blog post analyzed the various obstacles hindering the reintegration of the Chibok girls, including cultural gender norm bias.

Our process for writing the blog started with pinpointing specific questions that we would answer in our blog. Then we distributed different aspects of the research to the group members to make sure that we were being thorough in our presentation of the topic. It was interesting to read through how different sources presented news and to analyze the bias. We tried to include a diverse range of opinions. It became important to be weary of the source and fact check information, this is one of the biggest lessons to be learned from an assignment involving this much research Then we would each write our portion of the research and meet to organize information. Then we would have one group member edit and change the post to make it a more fluid voice. Lastly, a member was assigned to create citations, insert photos and hyperlinks, and upload the post once it was properly edited. Being accountable to other group members motivated timeliness and keeping to not only the assignment deadlines, but our self- assigned deadlines as well.

Going into this project I had a pretty vague understanding of Boko Haram and the Chibok girls, through these blogs I feel I have a more holistic understanding of the conflict and the dynamics of Boko Haram. This project helped me to become more comfortable with citing in APA format.  I learned more about what it takes in order work cohesively in a group and the importance of everyone pulling their weight, as well as being in good communication, and planning ahead. While difficult, I learned that how important it is to integrate everyone’s opinions and suggestions in a final product.