An 11-year-old girl in India died this week after being forced to stand in the sun for two hours, with bricks on her shoulders, for not successfully reciting the English alphabet in class. Eventually, the child vomited, then fainted, and was taken to the hospital where she later died.
Worse yet, some reports indicate that the girl, Shano Khan, had been repeatedly punished in school due to her poor attendance -- which itself was caused by her having had a seizure condition. School officials are blaming her death on her chronic illness, while of course any sane person would say that when you take a medically fragile person, then subject her to physical abuse, you shouldn't be shocked when something awful happens.
According to the BBC, the country's municipal schools tend to serve a poor population and teachers there are known to punish students severely, while anyone who can afford to sends their kids to private schools, which do not use corporal punishment (beatings are outlawed for all schools, but apparently the rule is frequently flouted).
The teacher has been charged, and both she and the school's principal suspended, and the girl's family is reportedly being compensated for her loss. But as her father points out, this will not bring back their child.
Shockingly, corporal punishment is still legal in public schools in 23 US states. The seven states listed as "most violent" in terms of amount and severity of coporal punishment in schools are Texas, Florida, Mississippi, Indiana, Arkansas, Louisiana and South Carolina. As we ponder the shocking early death of a girl like Shona Kahn, it's worth reflecting on what can be done to end state-sanctioned violence against children in schools closer to home.
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