When Learning Became a Risk

The messages came through my phone late one night with screenshots, videos and threats circulating online targeting girls I’ve mentored. Their Names, photos, and school schedules was shared publicly. I felt a rush of fear, not just for the girls but for the communities that raised them.

In Northern Nigeria, going to school has become a dangerous act of courage. Last year, schools were attacked, students abducted. Digital abuse and cyberbullying are the invisible violence that accompanies these physical threats. For the girls, each post, each viral image, is a test of resilience and sometimes, a decision between staying in school or hiding at home.

Through Girls Education Mission International, I’ve worked to provide mentorship, safe spaces, and digital literacy programs. Together with adolescent girls, young mothers, and girls with disabilities, we design solutions to make online spaces safer and girls themselves lead discussions on what justice looks like when the courts fail.

Yet, obstacles remain. Legal aid is scarce, evidence is dismissed and digital abuse is poorly understood by authorities. Survivors face distance, fees, stigma, and bias. Laws exist but enforcement falters, leaving abusers emboldened. I have seen girls drop out, abandon dreams, and retreat from life because the law or the community fails to protect them.

Justice is not only in courtrooms. It is in the support of peers, in mentorship, in communities that refuse to let abuse silence girls. It is in the skills that restore agency - tech training, education, and economic empowerment. I have watched girls reclaim confidence, launch businesses, mentor others and transform trauma into leadership.

This story is both personal and collective. It is my reflection as someone who has been on the frontlines, witnessing digital abuse, school closures, and systemic neglect, but also as someone who has seen girls rise, innovate and lead change.

We must act. Strengthen laws. Train authorities. Empower girls with digital skills. Build communities that intervene, not ignore.