Michelle Obama: 'Barack and I see our own daughters' in Nigeria’s kidnapped schoolgirls

Scott Olson/Getty Images

Michelle Obama: 'Barack and I see our own daughters' in Nigeria’s kidnapped schoolgirls
(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

First Lady Michelle Obama took over her husband's weekly radio and internet address this morning, using Mother's Day weekend to note that she and President Obama empathize with the families of Nigeria's kidnapped schoolgirls. Terrorist group Boko Haram abducted more than 200 girls from their dorm rooms on April 15, and the story has since gained international attention and calls for the girls' safe return. The first lady said the abduction is "a story we see every day as girls around the world risk their lives to pursue their ambitions."

She also noted, much as President Obama has in the past, that as parents, she and her husband were "outraged and heartbroken. In these girls, Barack and I see our own daughters," Michelle Obama said, referring to Malia, 15, and Sasha, 12. "We see their hopes, their dreams, and we can only imagine the anguish their parents are feeling right now."

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Sarah Eberspacher

Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.