School officials take restorative action, pledge systemic changes and support for Afghan girls
(BALTIMORE, MD, 10/10/2022) – The Maryland office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today strongly condemned a violent assault and the reported forced removal of two Afghan students’ religious head scarves, or hijabs, last month at Baltimore City’s Academy for College and Career Exploration (ACCE), and welcomed the school system’s initial response to its calls for an investigation into the incidents, restorative and disciplinary action, and systemic policy changes.
On October 3rd, in letters to ACCE administrators, Baltimore School Police and the Maryland State Department of Education, CAIR’s Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry called for:
- a hate bias probe of the incidents
- corrective action against staff who locked the bathroom door while the Muslim student was being assaulted inside, and who failed to immediately notify parents of the assault
- restorative measures against students who attacked the Muslim girls;
- an explanation of measures taken by the school/system to ensure students’ safety and well-being;
- compassionate, culturally appropriate counseling and support services for the targeted students; and
- systemic policy changes and trainings, including anti-bullying and cultural competency training for students and staff.
CAIR also urged school officials to instate policy changes ensuring that parents/guardians are immediately notified whenever an incident compromising the safety and well-being of any student takes place.
SEE CAIR’S LETTER:
https://www.cair.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ACCEIncident.pdf
In response, the school system sent a letter on Oct. 5th outlining several steps that it has taken or is taking to address these incidents, including an ongoing investigation, disciplinary action against students responsible, the departure of a staff member who reportedly locked the bathroom door from the outside during the Sep. 16th incident.
SEE SCHOOL SYSTEM’S RESPONSE:
https://www.cair.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MSDE.pdf
The school also pledged to follow protocols in the board policy on bullying, harassment, and intimidation; provide support and safety plans to the students who were attacked; notify their families of their rights to appeal the outcomes of investigations in process; facilitate school wide student and faculty meetings and trainings regarding the significance of religious and cultural attire; and develop curriculum content on diversity, equity and inclusion.
In a statement, CAIR Office in Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry said:
“The families of these girls fled persecution in Afghanistan seeking a better life, education and opportunities for their children, not expecting that they would be forced to confront a different kind of trauma and violence in our institutions here in the United States. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time recently arrived Afghan children in Baltimore and elsewhere have been assaulted or harassed at school. Our educational institutions must be safe spaces in which all children are protected from hate and attacks. No student should be subjected to the kind of ordeal that these girls were forced to endure.
“CAIR appreciates the Maryland State Department of Education’s support for these families, and ACCE officials’ initial response to our calls for action and the restorative and corrective measures they’ve taken to ensure the safety and well-being of these girls.
“We trust they prioritize the safety of all their students and hope these steps provide some comfort, especially to the student who was brutally attacked as she heals. We look forward to continuing to work with school officials to address the needs of their diverse student body.”
FULL BACKGROUNDER:
According to a complaint submitted to CAIR, at least two female Afghan Muslim students were targeted in suspected hate bias motivated attacks. In the first incident, on September 16, 2022, around 10 a.m. ET, a ninth grader was reportedly adjusting her hijab, or Islamic headscarf, in the girls’ bathroom at school when she was attacked by a group of girls.
Several of the girls looked on as at least three others reportedly pummeled the ninth-grader in the head several times, pulled off her hijab and proceeded to attempt to choke her with it. The ninth-grader attempted to escape the bathroom, but the door had been locked from the outside. School officials reportedly confirmed to the family that according to surveillance footage, a staff member, who is now no longer employed by the school system, had locked the bathroom door.
The attack reportedly left visible bruises and swelling as later witnessed by a staff member at the school and the girl’s parents. CAIR learned that the pin in the scarf beneath her chin penetrated the skin of her neck, leaving injuries. At the end of the school day, as she left to go home, the same group of girls who attacked the ninth-grader allegedly stared at her and made intimidating hand gestures towards her.
According to the girl’s family, who arrived in Maryland from Afghanistan after the collapse of the government in August 2021 and speak very little English, the school did not immediately report the incident to them. The father learned about the incident from his daughter and contacted school officials, who visited the family at their home two days later.
Despite assurances that the ninth-grader would be protected, her father chose not to send her to school that following Monday but allowed his other children to go. That day, one of his other daughters was approached by three of the same girls, who allegedly aggressively confronted her in an unprovoked incident and pulled her shoulder. After learning of this, the father decided not to send any of his children back to school for more than a week out of fear for their safety.
This ordeal left the ninth-grader with substantial physical and psychological trauma. Imaging obtained during a Baltimore area Emergency Room visit over one week after the incident revealed that she still suffered from a serious concussion. The swelling and bruising on her neck made it painful for her to swallow for several days.
Another incident reportedly occurred on or around September 19, 2022, and involved a neighbor of the ninth-grader, who is also a female Afghan Muslim student who wears hijab at the school. The circumstances are less clear about this incident, but also reportedly involved her headscarf being forcibly removed by other students.
In a letter to CAIR and others late last week, the school system outlined several steps that it’s taken to address these incidents, including an ongoing investigation into the incidents; following protocols in the board policy on bullying, harassment, and intimidation; providing support and safety plans to the students who were attacked; notifying their families of their rights to appeal the outcomes of investigations in process; facilitating school wide student and faculty meetings and trainings regarding the significance of religious and cultural attire; developing curriculum content on diversity, equity and inclusion; actions taken against staff members involved; and more.
SEE SCHOOL SYSTEM’S RESPONSE:
https://www.cair.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MSDE.pdf
Chaudry noted that CAIR 2022 Civil Rights Report, “Still Suspect,” documented various school-related complaints ranging from bullying, Islamophobic school curriculum, and holiday denials in 2021. Bullying is consistently one of the most common types of school-related complaints received at CAIR offices around the country.
SEE: 2022 Civil Rights Report: Still Suspect
https://www.cair.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Still-Suspect-Report-2022.pdf
A recent poll by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding reports, “In 2022, we find that nearly half (48%) of Muslim families with school-age children reported having a child who faced religious-based bullying in the past year.”
Bias and Bullying in Public Schools: Mitigating the Impact on Muslim and Perceived-as-Muslim Students
http://www.islamophobia.org/images/2019/Bullying/Bias_and_Bullying_White_Paper.pdf
CAIR’s Maryland office and the Maryland Governor’s Office on Community Initiatives recently joined to officially announce the month of October once again as ‘Statewide Bullying Prevention Month’ with the presentation of a Governor’s Proclamation.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR Office in Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry, zchaudry@cair.com, 410-971-6062; CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Coordinator Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com