Udayan School students protest over sexual harassment allegations

Students of Udayan Higher Secondary School, affiliated with the University of Dhaka (DU), staged a day-long protest on Tuesday, demanding justice over allegations that a fellow ninth-grader used artificial intelligence (AI) to create obscene images of female classmates, sent them indecent messages and threatened to rape them.

The protesters also accused the school authorities of barring 10 students from regular classes and examinations and subjecting them to harassment for speaking out against the alleged incidents.

They claimed the school administration had favoured the accused student, Tasnim Munim, from the outset because his father is the dean of the Faculty of Science at Dhaka University. According to the protesters, the authorities refused to accept complaints from the victims and instead detained students who raised their voices, collected written statements from them, confiscated their mobile phones and threatened legal action.

They further alleged that the victims and their families had faced pressure and intimidation.

Students attempted to gather on the school premises on Tuesday morning to protest the incidents. However, they alleged that the authorities locked them inside a classroom to prevent the demonstration. The students later broke the lock and came out to stage their protest.

Holding placards, they chanted slogans such as "We want a harassment-free school", "We want safety for girls" and "If her father is the dean, will our fathers be rickshaw pullers?"

The protesters put forward five demands: ensuring students' safety on the school premises; taking strict action against Munim and ensuring justice; ending harassment and threats against the victims and protesting students; immediately allowing the 10 students to resume regular classes; and forming an independent and impartial investigation committee free from the dean's influence.

In a written complaint submitted to the school principal, the victims said the accused had been behaving inappropriately towards them for a long time. They said they were terrified after he allegedly created objectionable images of female students using AI, threatened to circulate them and threatened to rape them.

The complainants also said they had tried twice before to lodge complaints with the school authorities but had failed.

A victim, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "Munim has been harassing me for four years. He has touched me inappropriately several times and made comments about my private body parts to his friends. I tried to inform teachers several times, but I lacked the courage and hope that anything would change.

"He has created objectionable images and circulated them among students of other schools as well. Many people send me messages about these images every day, making me feel humiliated."

Another victim said Munim made comments about different parts of their bodies and sent indecent messages to embarrass them. She also alleged that he had threatened to rape several of their friends.

"These incidents have happened repeatedly. Even when we want to report them, we cannot approach the teachers. We had complained to them before, but they took no action," she said.

Agitating student Md Jamil Hossain said around 60 to 70 students questioned Munim after classes in early October. They asked him to delete the manipulated images and related messages from his mobile phone and social media accounts. Some students also slapped him and warned him against repeating such behaviour, Jamil said.

According to Jamil, on October 7, the accused student's father and two assistant proctors of Dhaka University visited the school and complained against the protesting students.

The following day, October 8, teachers identified 10 students during an examination and detained them in the school's lunchroom. They were kept there from 8:00am until around 2:00pm or 3:00pm and asked to submit written statements, he said.

Jamil alleged that the victims tried to submit their complaints during that period, but the authorities refused to accept them. Instead, the school administration summoned their guardians and subjected them to mental pressure.

The protesters said the 10 students were initially barred from attending classes and examinations. Following protests by their parents, the authorities allowed them to sit examinations in a separate room but continued to prevent them from attending regular classes.

They claimed the students were deprived of normal academic activities for 25 days, including the Puja holidays. The authorities also threatened to issue them transfer certificates (TCs) if they continued their protests, they alleged.

The protesters further claimed that the school authorities had confiscated a mobile phone containing digital evidence related to their complaints.

They also alleged that, under the pretext of an investigation, they were forced to sign a written statement accusing them of abducting and severely beating Munim. When they objected, the authorities threatened to file general diaries (GDs) against them and take legal action.

The protesters said Munim's mother and other family members had visited the home of one victim's family and intimidated them. Families of other victims had also faced pressure, they claimed.

Meanwhile, the school administration has formed a two-member investigation committee comprising Dhaka University Assistant Proctors AKM Nur Alam Siddiqui and Enamul Haque Sajeeb to investigate the allegations.

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However, the protesters questioned the committee's impartiality, pointing out that both members work under the Faculty of Science. They also claimed that the accused student lives in the same building as one of the committee members.

The students said these connections had raised doubts about the committee's ability to conduct an independent investigation. They therefore demanded a new committee free from the dean's influence.

Contacted over the allegations, school principal Muhammad Arifur Rahman said the students had been kept out of regular classes to facilitate the investigation. He assured that the authorities would compensate for any academic losses they had suffered.

On the students' concerns about the committee's impartiality, he said, "I have learnt about their concerns regarding the committee. I will meet the vice-chancellor today and discuss the matter again before making a decision."

Asked whether the committee would be changed, he said, "The students can raise any objections after the investigation report is submitted. We will not allow any injustice. There is no scope for anyone to interfere in the investigation."

Acknowledging allegations of pressure on victims and their families, the principal said, "I am aware that some families are facing pressure. We will bring the matter to the attention of the investigation committee. I assure you that no one will be harassed."