Holy Cross ‘sorry’ for test question that said girls in 'indecent clothes' invite molestation

The headmistress of Holy Cross Girls’ High School has ‘apologised’ for a test question that suggested girls could avoid sexual harassment by not wearing ‘indecent’ clothes.

“This happened because we weren’t careful. We should have given it more thought,” Sister Rani Catherine Gomes said, speaking to bdnews24.com on Wednesday. 

She said the teacher who wrote the question paper for Islamic studies (creative) was ‘sorry’.    

“It is best to admit a mistake. We get training for setting creative questions. The teacher who made it said he was sorry. 
 
“He will write a statement saying mistakes like this will never reoccur.”

Many students who sat the test during the school’s first term examinations on Monday said they were embarrassed by the question while others worried about the effects.   

The premise in the fifth question was on two girls. 
 
Sanjida, it said, is modest and dresses appropriately. ‘Everyone is good to her’ while her classmate Rumana goes to Bengali New Year celebrations wearing ‘tight-fitted T-shirts and jeans’. 
 
She often finds herself in trouble and is harassed by boys in her neighbourhood. 
 
Rumana tells Sanjida about women being molested during Bengali New Year celebrations this year and is advised to ‘dress decently’.   

Four questions based on this example followed, one of them being – Discuss why Rumana should be decent in what she wears. 

Science, humanities and commerce stream students answered these questions. 

The well-known school was criticised on social media for the way the question treated the actual incident of women being sexually attacked during Pahela Baishakh celebrations at Dhaka University this year.

“I didn’t feel anything when I looked at the question paper. The girls
and their guardians also didn’t say anything. 

“We discussed the matter with the teachers after seeing your report.”

She claimed the question was designed to stress the importance of ‘Bengali culture’.

“We thought about highlighting Bengali customs around Baishaki celebrations.But we didn’t notice how it was being expressed in the test question. 

“The girls haven’t said anything, but we’ll get them together to discuss this.”