Sexual Assault By A Teacher Triggers Student Uprising in Dhaka

The recent events at the Viqarunnisa Noon School and College (VNSC), a prestigious girls educational institution in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka, has stirred much buzz in the Bangladeshi blogosphere. Porimol Joydhor, a teacher of Bangla department of the school’s Bashundhara campus, was accused of raping a female student of class ten at VNC while giving her private tuition in his premises.

According to reports Porimol recorded the incident in his mobile and threatened the victim that he would post it on internet if she divulged the matter. As the investigations began more shocking information were revealed. The incident took place in late May and the school headmaster at Basundhara branch did not take any action against the teacher after the victim reported it in a letter. Guardians alleged that because Porimol was a student leader of the ruling party the authorities ignored these allegations. When the news broke out in the media [bn] in early July the school governing body was put under a lot of pressure. Porimol was sacked and went into hiding. The committee also suspended two other teachers for their alleged misconduct with girl students.

The events and the student protests caused much uproar in the country and more drama unfolded as the students continued their protest which led to the replacement of the school principal. The mainstream media was accused of using sensationalism and politicizing the events. But some students continued to share their sides of the story via blogs and Facebook.


At last after the three-fold campaign via Blog, Facebook and street protests the police was forced to arrest Porimol. Wednesday (6th of July) at around noon he was arrested from a relatives house in Keraniganj (near Dhaka).


The students were still in doubt whether the victim would get justice and continued with their protests. Their demands included:

• All the accused should be brought to justice
• The school principal and the school management should clarify why they did not do anything against the accused
• Demanding resignation of the school principal for protecting Porimol.

Students hold placards denouncing sexual abuse at their school, as they gather at the Central Shaheed Minar.Image by Safin Ahmed. Copyright Demotix.


The students were still in doubt whether the victim would get justice and continued with their protests. Their demands included:


All the accused should be brought to justice
The school principal and the school management should clarify why they did not do anything against the accused
Demanding resignation of the school principal for protecting Porimol.
Many people became furious as the school principal was accused of saying that it was mutual sex. Xabir vents his anger [bn] at Amra Bondhu Blog:

Do you know that “consent” is required for mutual sex? But dear Fatty Headed principal, a minor girl below 18 (in some cases 16) can never give consent on her own.

Students hold placards denouncing sexual abuse at 
their school, as they gather at the Central Shaheed 

Minar.
Image by Safin Ahmed. Copyright Demotix.

Moreover, the blogger reveals that the section 5 of Sexual Offences Act (2003) says “a person commits an offense if he intentionally penetrates the vagina, anus or mouth of another person with his penis and the person is under aged.”


An anonymous ex-student of VNC recalls  in her blog that her Alma mater was not like this. She posted on the 8th of July about the student protests online and offline:


We have to admit, those younger sisters who opened this Facebook event will be under much pressure tomorrow. It might happen that the principal Hosne Ara Banu had already threatened them to expel from the school. The police may act like hired goons tomorrow. Those sisters may not be able to do much to be safe. But I am telling those sisters, please don't be afraid. We ex-students are with you together on this.

Students hold placards denouncing sexual abuse at their school.
Image by Safin Ahmed, Copyright Demotix

On the 9th of July the students of VNC along-with Parents and ex-students formed a human chain demanding resignation of the Principal. Bengal Masud posted [bn] videos and pictures of the event.


Soon the protests gathered more support from other members of the civil society. Also many teachers from VNC joined [bn] in the protests.


Blogger Alim Al Rajee is posting [bn] regular updates on this. This Facebook page is also providing updates. Some students are providing updates [bn] on how the interim principal is being accused of belonging to a political party and how the girls are being threatened by different quarters.

Shimul Kibria at Choturmatrik Blog writes [bn] about the trend of blaming the victim in a rape incident as some are blaming the student of VNC rather than Porimol:

Some people have learnt that women are only consumables. In their perspective women cannot think big, they have relatively less power and are completely submissive to men!

He continues:

The protests have not ended; we have to ensure justice for Porimol and his cohorts and ensure proper implementation of the women and children's act. To achieve these goals this platform should march forward, this is the demand of many thousands of people like me.

Now isn't taking any necessary steps and some media is also threating the current & ex-students of this Institution. International Human Rights Association or Organizations, Student of this institution needs your support, Support them. _____ BAG ADMIN


Source: ebangladesh

Read More

Single sex education is the best choice?

According to long term studies of children from around the world, students achieve more and learn better in single sex schools.

An Australian study of 270,000 students found that both boys and girls performed significantly higher on standardized tests when they attended separate schools. During an experiment in Virginia in 1995, 100 eighth graders were separated just for math and science courses. Almost immediately, the girls began to achieve more, become more confident and participate more often in class.

In 2001, a British study conclude that nearly every girl regardless of her ability or socioeconomic status performed better in single sex classrooms than co-ed ones. The study of study of 2954 high schools and 979 primary schools showed that while boys at the lowest ends academically improved the most in single sex schools, single sex education was particularly beneficial to girls. Every one of the top fifty elementary schools and top twenty high schools in Britain are single sex schools.

By using magnetic resonance imaging, (MRI), researchers have begun to literally watch the human brain work. Being able to observe the physical differences between male and female brains as they function, particularly at high level tasks like tests and the SAT exam, have led to understandings in how using different teaching methods specifically designed for each sex work so well.

At an all girls schools, teachers use the latest techniques keeping with the female learning style. The textbooks and other materials don’t have a male bias. Girls are more able to participate in class discussions since there aren’t boys around to dominate as in co-educational schools. Girls become more confident in themselves as students and earn higher scores on their College Board and Advanced Placement examinations.

In addition, having female adult role models, the lack of male favoritism, and the absence of the expectations for girls to be nice, quiet, non-athletic, and passive led to more successful academic careers when girls began college. Professor Robin Robertson said she could identify students from girls only schools on the first day of class. “They were the young women whose hands shot up in the air, who were not afraid to defend their positions, and who assumed I would be interested in their perspective.”

Girls take over all the positions of leadership in an single sex school, whether it’s drama, sports, yearbook, or debate team, and they are more likely to major in math and science in college. After ten years of studying sexism in classrooms, professors Myra and David concluded that girls stay confident and learn more in single sex schools – “where girls are the players, not the audience.”

Almost 90% of girls in co-ed high schools are affected by some form of sexual harassment. Being in an atmosphere that rails against the negative influence of mass media and its troubling depictions of women and girls is nothing but positive for teenage girls during a time when body image and self esteem are most critical.

While single sex education has been illegal in public schools since Title IX passed in 1972, applications and enrollment in private all-girls’ schools has steadily risen. According the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools to enrollment is up 29 percent in member schools, applications increased 40 percent, and more than thirty new schools have opened since 1991. Organized political pressure prevents experiments with single sex classrooms in public schools despite all the research that shows both girls and boys benefit from them. Most public teacher unions are against charter schools because they can be single sex.

A quarter of the female members of Congress and one-third of all female members of Fortune 100 boards graduated from all-women’s colleges. Adult graduates of all-girls high schools and colleges report extreme satisfaction with their education.

The demand for single sex education   does not only come from Muslim parents. A comparison of league tables shows that pupils (particularly girls) at single sex schools do generally better in exams than their peers in co-educational schools.

This is probably due to the fact that boys and girls mature at different times of their development, and girls are not held back by boys in single-sex schools nor distracted by the relationship problems common in co-educational schools amongst adolescent pupils. Islam, which does not permit sexual relationships outside marriage, does not approve the free mixing of the sexes after the age of puberty so as to reduce the risk of temptation. Most Muslim parents would prefer single-sex schools for their teenaged children, but other measures recommended by the teachings of Islam include modesty in dress and behavior. Islam invites people before 14 centuries not to mix girls and boys  in a same school . Islam introduces the solutions for all human problems .Islam is the greatest solution for human.

Read More