BENGALURU: Stigma and discrimination surrounding Covid-19 is still prevalent in society, as a female degree student of a private college in Bengaluru found out, to her chagrin.
She was allegedly blamed and discriminated against by fellow students for testing positive and putting others at risk.
Unable to bear the alleged torture, the student wrote to National Students’ Union of India coordinator Mohammed Fahad on March 16, asking him to take action as she was finding it hard to cope with the situation.
“I informed my college about my condition and since then, students have been harassing and mocking me, especially one guy. He has been defaming me and it’s becoming a mental torture,” she wrote, adding, “I am diagnosed with severe anxiety and depression and I am deteriorating physically and mentally.”
In a screenshot of messages on a WhatsApp group, the youth she mentions in the letter abuses her with expletives. He also terms her medical condition fabricated, to seek attention.
The student, who did not wish to be identified, told TNIE that her classmates believed that she came to college despite knowing that she had Covid.
She said she often suffers from migraine and sinus issues, has trouble breathing due to anxiety attacks and suffers from depression.
“I get a fever with migraine and sinus. Hence, I did not suspect it to be Covid. It was after a friend in class tested positive that I and the others got ourselves tested. Until my results came, I stayed home, and then informed everyone, including my class teacher,” she said.
She claimed that after this, they blamed her for coming to college intentionally, despite knowing that she had symptoms, and that their families were in danger because of her.
She said she wrote to NSUI as she felt humiliated and found little support.
“Once NSUI contacted my college, the authorities said they would talk to the students’ parents. I broke down yesterday. Discrimination will lead to people hiding the fact that they are Covid-positive or even taking a test,” she added.
Fahad put up her letter on his Instagram account, along with a screenshot of the WhatsApp message with expletives.
He told TNIE that he and other members of NSUI spoke to the college director and the management sought two days to suspend the person who had allegedly harassed her. When they protested the delay, they were detained by Tilak Nagar police for four hours.
“On Thursday, five representatives of NSUI and three representatives of the college will meet before the inspector and sort out the issue. Using vulgar language and harassing a girl is an offence. Instead of supporting her when she announced that she had got Covid and needed to be home quarantined, they insulted her. The college should have shut for a week, but didn’t,” Fahad said.