Child’s Bitter Self-Immolation in Paktika; Psychological Pressure and Violence in a Religious School
According to local sources, a 10-year-old child in Yousaf Khel district of Paktika province has committed self-immolation after enduring physical and psychological torture in a religious school.
The child, who is said to have been the victim of systematic abuse and humiliation by his school’s recitation teacher, set himself on fire two days ago and is now in critical condition.
Local sources say that the child was constantly being beaten, ridiculed and subjected to psychological pressure by the recitation teacher. According to them, his family also forced him to continue his studies at the school with extreme strictness.
Further details about his current condition are not yet available, but initial reports indicate that a large part of the child’s body has been severely burned and he is being kept in a medical center in critical condition.
The incident has once again highlighted concerns about the lack of adequate oversight of religious educational institutions, violent behavior in schools, and psychological pressure on children in Afghanistan.
