Bangladeshi female student set on fire after refusing to withdraw sexual harassment claim against headteacher
This shocking news is about a 19-year-old Bangladeshi female student, who was set on fire and burned to death for not withdrawing sexual harassment claim against her school principal. The incident happened in April this year, and 16 people (the principal and students!) have been sentenced to death for the murder.
This article is related to our class discussion – the power differences between men and women at a school or a workplace. The female student, Rafi, was clearly in a less powerful position (being a student and a female) than the male school principal, who had all the authority at the school.
The event is important because a precious life of a girl was sacrificed for no valid reasons. It is just unacceptable that her classmates, who were ordered by the principal to kill her, also got involved in the murder. It has a tremendous impact on individuals and a society, because it makes us think about how serious and prevalent the issue of sexual discrimination still is in this modern world. It surely influences mental conditions on those who are directly involved in the incident (teacher, students, parents, etc.).
When I read this news, I was just so shocked and speechless, as I couldn’t believe it could happen. The girl was not only sexually harassed but also murdered for claiming it, which must have been a lot of pain. It is so sad that many lives must be lost due to this sexual discrimination.
I would like to use this news article in my classes to open up a discussion about sexual harassment and tell my students how serious it can be. I can have my students discuss their experiences and opinions on the topic in various ways (similar experiences, how/why the incident happened, how to protect human rights, etc.).
Thank you for sharing this. It’s truly horrifying. But I’m glad that the perpetrators were convicted, since the article says this is rare in Bangladesh. Hopefully this is an indicator that Bangladeshi society will begin holding more people accountable for violence against women.
When I say “this is rare in Bangladesh,” I mean people being convicted, not violence against women happening
This is horribly saddening! Yet, I have so many questions about this situation! Was the police chief reprimanded for his part in dismissing the seriousness of her claims? How did they manage to get a “fast-tracked trial”? Were they repealed? What has happened since, is their an update?
I thought of two areas that could be discussed with this article, the psychology of the situation, and cultural differences of practices related to moral themes.
Psychology: Mob mentality could be addressed and how people react in situations where they may behave differently if they were not provoked to participate.
Culture: How are reports of sexual harassment handled in different cultures? How is the death penalty viewed in different cultures?