In another case of racial discrimination and negligence by a school in Pakistan, the mother of a Christian boy who was allegedly lynched by a Muslim classmate on August 30 has demanded action against the class teacher and the school headmaster.
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Razia Bibi, the mother of the deceased boy called Sheron Masih, said her son — a student of the Government MC School in Burewala — had been facing discrimination there since the first day he joined on August 28.
Dispute over water
Bibi has alleged that Sheron was not allowed to use the glass and the water cooler in his classroom as he belonged to a different faith than those who studied there.
According to the victim's mother, he would remain thirsty throughout the school hours and even during the hot days, and would have a drink only after school was dismissed. He would otherwise be bullied.
The matter was apparently ignored despite Sheron reporting the bullying to his class teacher.
Sheron tried to drink water from the cooler once again on August 30, but his classmate — identified as one Ahmed Raza — stopped him and thrashed him, reported Dawn.
When Sheron fell down on the floor and did not respond, four of his classmates rushed him to the Burewala Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) hospital on a motorcycle rickshaw. However, the doctors declared him dead on arrival.
Sheron's mother has also alleged that the security guard and the peon of the school were not present at the gate when the other boys were taking her son to the hospital.
She also said her son was declared dead at around noon but the teachers reached the hospital only at 1:30 pm.
'Religiously motivated attack'
Razia has reportedly levelled a slew of allegations against the school as well as its teachers and students.
She said Sheron was scolded by his teacher for not wearing uniform on his first day at school.
Sheron's father Ilyasab Masih, meanwhile, has said the attack on his son was religiously motivated. He claimed the teacher had sent out a strong non-verbal message of hostility against Christians by scolding and hitting his son.
"His teacher, Nazeer Mohal, sent him back home because he was not wearing the proper uniform," the victim's father was quoted as saying by the Morning Star.
"His mother told me later that evening (August 28) that Sheron had told her that the teacher had hit him in front of the whole class and also called him a Chuhra (a derogatory word for Pakistani Christians), besides other curse words. She said he was quite upset at being humiliated in front of the whole class on the very first day of school," Ilyasab added.
While the police are investigating the case, Bibi has appealed to the chief justice of Pakistan to give them justice.
