A school in Bogor Regency, West Java is getting flak after one of its teachers allegedly conducted a period inspection on students amid suspicions that some girls may have been ditching prayers at school.
Recently, some students from the public high school alleged that one female teacher lined up girls who did not partake in the duha prayer (which is not even one of the five mandatory daily prayers in Islam). She then allegedly ordered them to lower their skirts to see whether or not they’re actually menstruating.
Women on their period are forbidden from taking part in prayer in Islam.
The school yesterday issued a clarification denying that the teacher told the students to strip, but confirmed that there was indeed a period inspection.
According to the school, the inspection occurred on Sept. 16. As if this makes everything alright, the school said the inspection method merely involved the teacher imploring the students to be honest about their menstrual status, as well as some inappropriate touching.
“The teacher told them, ‘apologies, but [if you’re being dishonest] do you want to be touched like this?’ while motioning a light touch to their behinds,” the school’s spokesman Baitul Harahap said.
Baitul explained that the method was used to see whether or not the girls were wearing menstrual pads. He clarified further that the teacher did not actually touch the students, as she ordered them to conduct the inspection among themselves.
“The teacher only wanted to test the students’ honesty,” he said.
The Bogor chapter of the Commission for the Protection of Indonesian Children (KPAI) has met with the alleged victims and the school staff. The agency says that based on its preliminary investigation, there is no evidence that the students were told to remove their skirts and that the allegation may have just been a rumor started by students who weren’t even subjected to the inspection at the time.
KPAI did say, however, that the teacher did indeed instruct some of the girls to feel each other’s behinds for pad detection.
No sanctions have been announced yet for the teacher or the school.
