An 11-year-old girl studying in a school in Hyderabad was allegedly forced to stand outside a boys' washroom for wearing a normal dress to school instead of a proper uniform.
The incident, which took place on Saturday at Rao's High School in Ramachandrapuram located on the outskirts of Hyderabad, triggered severe backlash with angry parents and child rights activists vandalising the administration office on Monday.
P Vijay, the father of the girl, said that his daughter returned from school on Saturday in a traumatic state.
"She broke down and said that she was made to stand near the boys' washroom for wearing a normal dress instead of school uniform. I had written a note in her diary that her uniform was washed and didn't dry completely so she could not wear it, but the Physical Education teacher who pulled her up refused to listen and shouted at her and asked her to stand at the washroom," the father was quoted as saying by ANI.
"My daughter felt very humiliated and has refused to go to school. She is asking me if she has to go school like this where students are humiliated. She said that students who came to the washroom laughed at her," he added.
However, Priyanka K, the in-charge of the school, denied allegations saying that the 11-year-old girl was not asked to stand outside the boys' washroom.
"She was asked to stand outside her class 5 which happens to be near the washroom. The girl did not show the note written by her father in the diary. She was sent back to the class after a few minutes. We have suspended the teacher who punished her," Priyanka said.
The parents of the girl made a video, which features her talking about her traumatic experience. They sent the video to an NGO named Balala Hakkula Sangam that aims to save child rights and fights against child labour.
Child rights activists and members of the NGO vandalised school property and broke furniture on Monday morning. The NGO has demanded that a case must be registered against the teacher, who allegedly forced the girl to stand outside the boys' washroom.
