In a case that would make no sense on its face value, a girl from Kannur in Kerala has committed suicide after managing to score 1,180 marks out of the total 1,200 — a cool 98.33 percent — in the higher secondary school examinations. It is only when one looks at the suicide note she has left behind that manages to shed some light on why she took the extreme step.
The 17-year-old girl, identified as Rafseena, was a resident of the Maloor village in the Kannur district of Kerala, and a student of Sivapuram Higher Secondary School. When Kerala HS results were declared on Monday, May 15, it came to light that she had managed to score more than 98 percent marks, and was the highest scorer from her school!
Her story was soon covered by local and then state news outlets, who wrote not only about her marks but also her struggle to continue studies. After all, they wrote, she lived with her mother — a daily-wage worker — in a single room in the Maloor Nittaramb Laksham Veedu colony of the village. She had not revealed this information to any of her classmates.
As news of her achievement spread, people from many quarters — including Kannur MP PK Sreemathy — came forward with offers of sponsorship that would propel her towards higher studies.
However, the news reports also meant Rafseena's classmates came to know of her poor social background, and it was out of embarrassment at this that she ended her life, according to the suicide note she left behind. Her body was found hanging at her home on the afternoon of Wednesday, May 17.
The incident has led to heated discussions on social media on a number of topics. These include peer pressure — stemming from how embarrassed Rafseena was about her social standing, and how its publicity drove her to suicide — and how such stories of success should be reported with sensitivity so as to not portray the protagonist in poor light.
