On the day they were kidnapped from their school in Chibok, Borno State, Nigeria, most of the over 200 girls were aged 16, 17 or 18 years. That was on April 14, 2014.
One of the girls was Amina Ali, who was found near Sambisa Forest on May 17, 2016, by which date she had clocked 19. Many newspapers, radio and TV stations have continued to refer to Amina as a girl. Wrong! Adulthood begins at 18. Therefore, Amina is no longer a girl but a woman.
For the purpose of proper identification, it won’t be wrong to say that Amina was one of the abducted schoolgirls. In a secondary reference, however, it would be more proper to call her a woman or a young woman. Reason: she has crossed over to adulthood. We hope even the BBC does not make that mistake!
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