A wide debate flared up in Egypt Monday following the suspension of an Arab instructor who bullied an elementary school student, in Dumyat province (northern Cairo).
The Minister of Education and his deputy in Dumyat apologized to the young student Basmala Ali Abdul Hamid, and the province's mayor met her with a bouquet of flower while visiting her school on Monday.
This incident comes while the Egyptian government is combating the bullying phenomenon in schools with a huge media campaign, in which many Egyptian artists had participated.
This crisis emerged in October, when the instructor asked Basmala's colleagues to analyze "Basmala is a black student", a sentence that makes fun of the girl's color. At the time, her family filed a complaint at the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, accusing the instructor of bullying.
The matter first ended with reconciliation between the two parties, however, the instructor revived the conflict two days ago, when he said to Basmla: "Those who want to hold me accountable can seek officials," which urged her mother to share a post on her Facebook page criticizing the bullying targeting her daughter.
According to Manal Gharib Mohammad, the girl's mother, the post made headlines on social media websites in the country, and in few hours, the issue turned into a public debate.
The mother told Asharq Al-Awsat: "Dr. Tarek Shawki, minister of education apologized to my daughter on TV, the ministry's deputy in Dumyat also apologized, and Dr. Manal Awad, Dumyat' mayor, visited the school in the morning and motivated my daughter with flowers."
She saw that the recent taken measures and the attention given to Basmala's case maintained her dignity. Gharib finally said that the administrative and general prosecutions in Dumyat called her on Monday to listen to what she wants to say in this case.
