Teen who exposed teacher's rape jokes hits back at cyberbullies, bodyshamers

PETALING JAYA: Malaysians – some believed to be teachers themselves – who posted lewd comments about Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam, the 17-year-old student who revealed a teacher's jokes about rape, are being exposed for their behaviour online.

In a video posted to TikTok and Twitter, the plucky teen demanded an apology from commenters who wrote about her body on social media.

She made headlines after lodging a police report against a male teacher for allegedly making rape jokes in class, a move that sent shockwaves through the nation.

"Apologise to us. #MakeSchoolASaferPlace," read the text in the video, which started with the teenager looking calm and mouthing the word "apologise" before panning into screenshots of rude comments about the size of her breasts and body shape.

The commenters also said Ain Husniza's dressing was to be blamed for her being the target of harassment and many shamed her for not covering her aurat.

The video, posted on Tuesday (April 27), has so far garnered over 205,000 views on Twitter.

On Twitter, Ain Husniza said the comments showed how critical the issue has been in Malaysia where men could write lewd comments but rape victims would still be blamed for their appearance.

"I am still a child. Female students are still children. Boys deserve better education. #MakeSchoolASaferPlace.

"If you really want to make a change, start speaking out when you see this sort of paedophilic, grooming behaviour by adults. We must let them know it is time for them to take accountability for their actions. Start speaking up. #MakeSchoolASaferPlace," she wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.

"Do not let my fight be in vain. I am willing to go through all this if it means no student will ever have to go through or feel what I feel right now. For our next generation. For us. Make a ruckus," she added.

Other students have also come out on social media to expose male teachers allegedly leaving lewd comments about the teen in a Facebook group for teachers.

Besides body shaming her, some also wrote about how her appearance was "threatening" their fast and some even condescendingly questioned her future.

"The fact (that) all of these are teachers. Start a revolution. Do you want the next generation to be infected by the same mindset as these sick monsters called 'educators'? Disgusting, sick society. #MakeSchoolASaferPlace," the 17-year-old tweeted on Wednesday (April 28).

On Facebook, her father Saiful Nizam said the lewd comments about his daughter's appearance showed how "sick" Malaysian society is.

"Dear men, stop thinking using your genitals. Many of these screenshots are from Facebook groups where the members are teachers. There are also women who failed to understand the real issue being fought for.

"From joking about rape (by a teacher), then rape threats from a student, and now body shaming and cyberbullying.

"I feel a deep pity for the teaching profession which has become increasingly smeared by such trashy individuals," he wrote on Wednesday.

The student, who had lodged a police report against her teacher for making rape jokes in class, has also lodged another report against a male classmate after receiving a rape threat from him.

While the police said it was investigating both reports seriously, her father said the classmate had since apologised to her.