A tale of two kidnapings: Government response to Chibok & Dapchi attacks in Nigeria

This study examines government response to two terror-related incidents in Nigeria, an abduction of 276 schoolgirls in April 2014 and a similar abduction of 110 schoolgirls in February 2018 by terror group Boko Haram. Data consisted of government communications around both incidents, including social media messaging and press statements, supplemented by qualitative interviews with journalists who reported on the abductions. Findings suggest that silence, distancing, acceptance of responsibility, and rebuilding were used to varying degrees in the two incidents. We conclude that the government response to the Chibok incident was delayed, underestimated reputational threat, and attempted to distance itself from the incident, resulting in the emergence of competing frames. The response to the Dapchi abduction was more timely and showcased acceptance of responsibility by the political administration. Implications for terror-related crisis communication in developing countries are discussed.     

Hashtagging girlhood: #IAmMalala, #BringBackOurGirls and gendering representations of global politics

This article explores how gendered, racial and youth-ed concepts of girlhood shape the way conflict, violence and the lived experiences of girls in conflict-affected environments are understood globally. In particular, it examines the broader context and effect of social media campaigns that specifically invoke a concept of “girlhood” in their responses to crisis or tragedy. It focuses on two hashtags and their associated social media campaigns: #IAmMalala, started in response to the attempted killing of Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai in 2012 by Taliban gunmen, and #BringBackOurGirls, started by Nigerians and adopted globally in response to the kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls by terrorist group Boko Haram. In both instances, understandings of the broader political context are shaped by the focus on girls. Both hashtags also appropriate an experience: claiming to be Malala and claiming the Nigerian girls as ours. Through this exploration, I argue that particular ideals of girlhood are coded within these campaigns, and that these girls’ experiences are appropriated. I critique the limited representations of girlhood that circulate in these discussions, and how these limited representations demonstrate the problematic narrowness of dominant conceptions of girlhood.