Malaysian teenager Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam's unexpected rise from anonymous pupil to national leader against school harassment began with a teacher allegedly joking about rape. Ain recorded her TikTok — now watched over 1.8 million times — in April after being appalled by her male physical education teacher's joke during a class. The clip touched a nerve, she believes, because abuse "is happening to students all around Malaysia". Rights group the All Women's Action Society (Awam) said Ain's video came at a time concern was already growing about school abuse, and proved the spark needed to ignite a national debate. Following her TikTok video, she stopped attending her school in Puncak Alam, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, out of fear for her safety — only to be threatened with expulsion.

Source: The Star June 02, 2021 09:00 UTC