Scuffle at graduation event: Students to be interrogated

Manama : Several female students, who were involved in a brawl at a public school graduation ceremony on Tuesday, will be interrogated by the Public Prosecution, DT News has learnt.

The Education Ministry confirmed that it had reported the matter to the Public Prosecution to take necessary legal measures. “The Ministry will not tolerate any form of chaos at educational institutions. All violators will be held legally accountable for their actions,” stated the Ministry’s Public Relations and Media Directorate yesterday. 

The statement came after a catfight erupted between students during West Riffa Secondary Girls’ School graduation party held at Education Ministry Hall in Isa Town (Educational Area) on Tuesday night, resulting in the injury of several students and parents. 

Four students apparently attacked a group of other students and their parents, following a verbal argument over the “excessive” use of snow spray at the event. According to one of the girls involved in the brawl, “things escalated quickly after a parent, who was defending her daughter’s behaviour and justifying her misuse of snow spray, insulted the four girls.”

The girl, who later spoke in several video clips posted on SnapChat app, mentioned her full name and bragged about how she “beat them up,” as she claimed that she was defending her honour after her mother was publicly insulted by one of the parents.

“I was the first to jump on stage. We were four and there were more than 10 of them. They’re the only ones who walked out with injuries,” the girl arrogantly said in the video.

“We politely approached them and asked them not to spray us or the audience,” she added, “But they reacted violently and got what they deserved. We’re not afraid of what we did, it was in self defence. We don’t care if they complain against us.”

The footage showed the four girls beating up other students and their parents across the hall, while the security guards helplessly tried to break the fight. They used their bare fists and chairs to beat up each other. 

The clips were widely circulated in local and regional social media networks, crossing one million views on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Some users described the four girls involved in the fight as “tomboys” due to their man-like appearances and behaviours.

While speaking to DT News on the matter, MP Jamal Dawood, who previously called for eliminating the phenomena of men acting like women or vice versa, stressed that “a long-term national strategy is needed to extract such behaviours from the Bahraini society.”

“We should focus on raising more awareness among all segments of the society on the dangers of abandoning our traditions and morals, and adopting foreign lifestyles,” he added. “Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments, Education, Information Affairs and Youth and Sports Affairs Ministries should contribute in improving social and moral awareness among the youth.” 

When asked about Parliament’s role in the matter, the MP noted to several parliamentary and proposals to correct such bizarre behaviours, mentioning a recent proposal that was passed by the Council to intensify family and awareness programmes on Bahrain Television Channel.

“As representatives of the people of Bahrain, we’re close to the problems in our society. But, it’s sad that some of us still deny the existence of such behaviours, which has degraded the moral levels of our societies. The issue of girls acting like men in our schools is a disaster that needs to be addressed and eliminated. Yet, many of us prefer to deny the facts and reject openness in solving problems,” he added.