11-Year-old punished for wearing 'Tilak'

On her birthday, an 11-year-old girl was allegedly punished for wearing ‘tilak’. The girl was made to stand for two hours outside her school principal's room.

The child who is a student of St Ann's School in Secunderabad refused to go to school following the incident. The girl’s parents have complained to the state human rights commission.

After the punishment, the principal Sally Joseph summoned her mother and berated the child for wearing a ‘tilak’. As her mother explained the reason that her child had visited the temple on the eve of her birthday, Ms Joseph allegedly refused to listen.

In the letter to the Human Rights body, the girl’s father wrote that the headmistress did not listen to both his wife and daughter. Also, that she tried to issue a transfer certificate to his daughter. He alleged that the Principal further said that the child should remember this incident on her every birthday.

The Human Rights Body has asked the state education department for a report by April 9.