Schools are meant to be safe havens for children- spaces of learning, growth, and protection. Yet in Gujranwala🇵🇰, the story of 9-year-old Maryam Hidayat, a Christian student, reveals a disturbing truth: even classrooms can become places of fear and coercion.
According to reports, Maryam, a fourth-grade student, is facing relentless harassment from some of her Muslim teachers and fellow classmates. The pressure is not limited to casual bullying — she is being actively coerced to abandon her Christian faith and convert to Islam. When she resists, she faces ridicule, intimidation, and isolation.
What makes this case even more alarming is the complicity of silence. Maryam’s desperate cries for help are allegedly being ignored by school authorities. Instead of ensuring her safety, her family has reportedly been threatened with expulsion, leaving them powerless and vulnerable.
A Dangerous Trend in Pakistani Society
This case is not an isolated incident. Across Pakistan, minority communities- especially Christians and Hindus- have long reported religious harassment, forced conversions, and systemic discrimination. But when such acts infiltrate educational institutions, they strike at the very foundation of a child’s right to safety and education.
The message sent is chilling: if even schools are unsafe, where can minority children truly belong?
Beyond Bullying: A Human Rights Crisis
This is not mere playground bullying- it is religious harassment that violates fundamental human rights. The targeting of a child for her faith erodes trust in schools, deepens communal divisions, and perpetuates cycles of fear.
A Call for Action
Pakistan’s government and civil society must urgently address this growing climate of intolerance. Protecting children like Maryam is not only a moral obligation but also a legal one, under both national laws and international human rights commitments.
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Schools must be held accountable for protecting every student, regardless of faith.
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Teachers and administrators complicit in harassment should face consequences.
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Stronger safeguards must be enacted to protect minority families from coercion and threats.
Until then, the plight of Pakistan’s minorities will continue, and innocent children will pay the price for society’s silence.
👉 This is vile and unacceptable. Schools should be sanctuaries of learning, not breeding grounds for fear and hate. The world must not look away from Maryam Hidayat’s struggle — it represents the struggle of countless minority children across Pakistan.
#PlightOfPakistanMinorities #ReligiousFreedom #HumanRights
For more updates and detailed coverage of this case and other issues affecting the Hindu and Sindhi communities in Sindh, Pakistan, stay tuned to Sindh Renaissance.
