Hyderabad: A 13-year-old girl delivered a bay inside school washroom and activists say such incidents betray deep-seated ignorance about child abuses in India
The ninth grader in a government school in the Madhapur area of Hyderabad, capital of Telangana state, reportedly complained of stomach ache on November 28. Her teacher sent her to washroom with a classmate
The companion soon returned and reported that the girl had delivered a baby.
The teen and the baby were moved to a room and her parents were called to school, ndtv.com reported.
The school staff said nobody in the school, including 13 women teachers, had noticed that the student’s pregnancy.
”She is very slim and would walk with a dupatta (veil) on her stomach and she would sit with her bag on her lap, so we didn’t know,” said the girl’s teacher.
It is suspected that the girl may have been assaulted by a neighbor, but a police complaint was filed only after the incident became public on November 30 provoking shock and outrage. A rape case has been registered.
The district education officer who visited the school to inquire into the case said it appeared that the girl’s parents may have been aware of her condition but were reluctant to tell anyone or go to the police fearing social stigma.
The girl’s classmates said she had been aloof for some time and would not even come out to play.
Activists say this incident once again highlights deep-seated ignorance surrounding child abuse. The lack of awareness is reinforced by the fact that what the girl was going through missed the attention of so many people around her.