Pakistan’s #MeToo wave continued to bring to light the patriarchy that oppresses millions in the country, when news surfaced of a federal board appointed examiner sexually molesting as many as eighty students at Bahria College in Islamabad during their Intermediate Examinations.
Saba Ali, one of the victims of this gruesome incident, took to social media to highlight what she and her peers had gone through at the hands of the perpetrator.
My biology practical was held on 24th May 2018, I was in the first batch of the bio practical. I came to school at 8.00…
Posted by Saba Ali on Monday, May 28, 2018
Saba claims in her post that the examiner was ‘very strict’ and was not allowing the students’ teacher to enter the hall where the exam was taking place. The school’s principal eventually allowed the teacher to enter the hall, but she was left powerless as the molester, Sadat Bashir ‘groped almost 80 students and passed sleazy comments.’
Bashir groped Saba twice and also passed extremely lewd comments that left Saba ‘extremely uncomfortable’.
The students looked to their teacher for assistance, but as is the case with patriarchy that silences many, the teacher asked the students to not protest since the examiner had the power to deduct their marks.
The assaulter, in fact, did threaten to deduct the students’ marks if they resisted.
Following Saba’s shocking revelation, several other students came forward to highlight their own traumatic experience during the exam.
Another student told media sources that her friends had warned her about the perpetrator, but she had no choice other than to go through the ordeal.
During the exam, this student added, the examiner cornered her and inappropriately touched her. The student’s teacher was once again powerless in the face of this blatant harassment.
A twitter account by the name of ‘#PunishSadatBashir’ has also emerged and has started a thread of students anonymously posting their personal experiences. The page has recorded eighteen testimonies so far.
Confessions of the victims. 18 testimonies so far. pic.twitter.com/WdnfqpAtXS
— #PunishSadatBashir (@OfficiallyAlsa) May 29, 2018
Bahria College’s Principal Iqbal Javaid has meanwhile acknowledged these reports and claimed that they have reported the matter to the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education.
Several victims, moreover, are contemplating legal actions while others are demanding the examiner’s license be revoked to ensure the safety of students.
