New Delhi: A viral video of a girl student assaulting a fellow student at the elite Scarsdale American International School in Lahore has angered many Pakistanis, with some calling it ‘haraam‘ and comparing it with scenes from television dramas.
The video, which has been circulating on social media since Friday, shows a girl student holding another, pushing her head against the floor, while punching and pulling her hair. The girl allegedly being bullied is asked to apologise. Two others are seen in the video as participating in the violence while a third one stands as an onlooker. Other clips of the incident show that more people were involved. The video was uploaded on YouTube as well and it was alleged by many users that drugs were involved in the incident.
The international school where the incident allegedly took place is known to have a zero-tolerance approach when it comes to such acts of bullying. After the incident was reported, the school condemned the incident and said that it gives the “highest priority to school culture and will uphold the values of respect and compassion.”
A post on the school’s Facebook page states that ‘bullying should never be tolerated’ and that ‘whether you’re the one being bullied…or engaging in bullying behaviour, there are steps you can take to deal with the problem and put a stop to the damaging effects of bullying.’
Media and Twitter reactions
Many social media users, including distinguished personalities, shared the video and showed abhorrence at the act. Journalist Haris Gujjar wrote that the victim’s father had claimed that those bullying her daughter were drug addicts. Environmentalist Roshan Din Diameri claimed that the girl in the video was tortured after she tried to stop her schoolmates from consuming alcohol.
🔴 What's going on in Private Schools?
The video of torture on a student in a private school in #Lahore has gone viral, according to the father of the girl who became a victim of violence, his daughter was tortured by her classmates who are drug addicted #JusticeForParasShah pic.twitter.com/FJJbFQpgsA
— Haris Gujjar (@Harisgujjar97) January 20, 2023
These are the scenes of Scarsdale American International School Defense, one of the few expensive schools in #Lahore where a case has also been filed where a female student, along with her sister, tortured a fellow student for allegedly forbidding alcohol. pic.twitter.com/1tT7CJKOpT
— Roshan Din Diameri (@Rohshan_Din) January 20, 2023
Several others called for justice for the victim and the arrest of the abusers, who they believed were trying to copy a scene from a 2021 Korean Netflix show, You Are My Glory, and that ‘haraam‘ blood was flowing in their veins.
The flop try of these whores to copy the Netflix season #myglory is really shameful. Their language is showing what they actually are! Haram blood in their veins showing their haramipan. To the boys who were recording this. Be a man not a piece of shit. #fakebullies #Lahore pic.twitter.com/lGY0Zp1l0V
— Fatima🦋 (@Moaddat1) January 21, 2023
Another user wrote about the ‘disgusting’ elite class and how the young generation among the rich was watching too many ‘Korean shows’ that had normalised this behaviour for them.
The dirty face of our Elite Class#Lahore #Schoolfight pic.twitter.com/1brxsuWmZq
— Ayat Says (@sarcasm475) January 21, 2023
Just saw the lahore school bullying video and it was unbearable. Idk if our elite kids are obsessed with korean seasons where they show this kind of bullying in schools or what but this needs to be stopped and punished as example for everyone #Lahore
— Wajahat Naseer (@bolowajahat) January 21, 2023
According to news reports, an FIR has been registered in the case. The complaint by the victim’s father said his ‘daughter Aliha Imran was tortured by Jannat and her sisters Noor and Umaima.’
He claimed that Aliha was beaten because she had allegedly sent a video of Jannat using drugs to her father. The complainant alleged that knives were also used in the attack.
(Edited by Anurag Chaubey)