I wish to draw the attention of
concerned authorities through the esteemed column of your newspaper towards an
extremely vital and tormenting problem due to which the life of pakistanis has
become miserable.
"In Pakistan, violence has become a part of the culture, “It’s in our homes as
corporal punishment, on our streets as a means of settling an accident and in
our media as political and sectarian killings.”
In the midst of all of this, it is hardly surprising that emotional and verbal
bullying is dismissed as unimportant. In fact, many even consider it a necessary
‘rite of passage’ for both the bully and bullied – to make them into strong
human beings unless it escalates into physical violence.
School and college vernacular is rife with taunts that would have the bully
hauled up anywhere else in the world. In Pakistan, however, the bully usually
walks away in gales of laughter, from one target to another, proud of what they
have just done.
Bullying – in all its emotional, intellectual and physical forms – can occur as
early as primary school wherein children who seem ‘different’ may be ostracised,
teased or threatened. Although bullying can take many forms, for the child at
the receiving end, it is never innocuous. If a child is being called names,
teased, ignored, joked about or stolen from, they are being bullied. Religion,
race, caste, social class, physical disabilities and even superior intelligence
or looks are all reasons enough for being targeted a bully. Children with high
self-esteem might avoid under-performers as not good enough. Girls, in
particular, tend to move in exclusive cliques, silently undermining outsiders by
spreading rumours and revealing secrets. Boys, on the other hand, resort to more
apparent means such as physical abuse, spitting, shouting and generally
rebellious behavior.
In general, bullies tend to be impulsive, aggressive, rude, insensitive and
intimidating in nature while their victims are relatively much more shy,
sensitive and introverted. Physically, the former also tend to overshadow the
latter and subconsciously use their bigger size to exert their authority.