Ridicule and fear have long served as tools of control for the ruling classes, with harassment functioning as a calculated mechanism that combines both. It’s a restrained form of violence, applied daily—not extreme enough to incite rebellion but constant enough to foster a tolerance for oppression. Examples include collective punishment in classrooms for one student’s error, police setting up random checkpoints to search citizens, or the use of rape as a psychological weapon in prisons and wars. These are facets of systemic violence in a class-based structure, designed to create a pervasive atmosphere of fear and inferiority, sustaining the oppressive order. The most abhorrent form of this violence is sexual assault and harassment. Class societies are built upon a fundamental division between the powerful and the weak, a structure that is inherently male dominated. Women and children, situated at the lowest rungs of this hierarchy, are subject to intensified forms of physical, psychological and sexual violence that are products of the system. As the system’s crisis deepens, systematic violence escalates, until violence becomes the sole means of its survival. While this agony may temporarily silence dissent, it ultimately bears the potential to fuel rebellions in the long run.
This pattern was evident in recent student protests at a college in Lahore, Pakistan, where the youngest layer of students strongly reacted to an alleged assault on a peer. Although the incident may appear minor, it demands closer analysis. Since the post-Zia-ul-Haq era—and particularly in the recent years—reactionary forces like Imran Khan’s PTI and the Islamic fundamentalist TLP have fostered a culture steeped in male chauvinism, misogyny and victim-blaming surrounding sexual violence. The college students, however, totally and vehemently rejected this culture within a matter of days, signaling the younger generation’s refusal to accept regressive mindsets. Beyond their outrage over the alleged assault, these students—with males at forefront in most cases—voiced anger about their own experiences with harassment, exposing the deeply rooted repression within the prevalent class-based education system.
Educational institutions in Pakistan have become akin to prisons, policed by private security and, in some cases, by paramilitary forces like the FC, Rangers or even secret police under restrictive, quasi-fascist laws. The basic democratic right to form student unions is far out of reach—students aren’t even permitted the freedom to gather in study circles for discussions or cultural activities. Guards across these institutions are tasked with harassing, humiliating, racially profiling and enforcing moral policing on students. In Government College University (GCU) Faisalabad, for example, students report that armed guards even enter libraries with weapons and routinely harass students—a pattern common in both public and private institutions. This harassment isn’t limited to security guards. Before anything else, it originates from the institutions’ administration, often led by retired military officers who command these guards in the name of security. Typically, retired colonels or brigadiers frustrated by lack of promotion and failure of their own careers vent their disappointment on students. These individuals should be reintegrated into society through proper therapy post-retirement, rather than being given responsibility for the younger generation’s development.
The fundamental role of the army is to produce individuals who can follow orders without question, whereas universities are supposed to cultivate critical thinking. Appointing former military personnel—who are trained within a strict, hierarchical structure—to lead universities often results in institutions being managed like military setups rather than academic spaces. It’s as ironic as putting professors in charge of the military—soldiers would end up engaging in discussions rather than focusing on combat readiness. This stark misalignment highlights the lack of justification for such officers’ presence in academic institutions and the undue authority they wield over students. Removing them from educational administration is essential for the health and growth of these institutions.
As noted earlier, the most disturbing form of violence in this context is sexual harassment, especially against female students. Many women in educational institutions face sexual harassment, with blackmail standing out as a particularly toxic and pervasive form. Unlike more visible acts like rape or coercion, blackmail often goes hidden from the sight, yet it is among the most prevalent abuses. If female students were to openly share their stories, it would expose the pretense of civility in our society. Teachers and administrators wield absolute power over students, and as George Orwell once remarked, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The presence of entire harassment rackets outside institutions, which then connect to these oppressive structures within, intensifies this systematic abuse manifold.
It’s common to hear female students report that rejecting a professor’s advances led to them failing a subject, losing an entire year or semester. In a backward, patriarchal and already crisis-ridden society where women’s right to education is fragile, these students bear the weight of their parents’ sacrifices for expensive education. Only they know the toll this takes. Adding insult to injury, anti-harassment committees within institutions often consist of the same people or their friends who are part of causing this systematic abuse. These committees have transformed from anti-harassment bodies into harassment enablers.
In such an environment, students have no choice but to resist collectively against this systemic oppression. While the roots of these issues lie deep within the structure of society, true resolution requires dismantling the patriarchal and class systems themselves. However, immediate resistance to all forms of harassment also cannot wait.
Therefore, it’s necessary that:
– Anti-harassment committees led by students be established in all educational institutions.
– In universities, a male and female representative should be elected for each class and section, forming a departmental anti-harassment committee.
– Each department committee should elect two student representatives, who would collectively form the central committee of the university.
– The same process should be conducted in colleges (high schools), forming committees with elected student representatives from the 11th and 12th grades.
– These committees should have the authority to suspend or permanently dismiss members of the administration, faculty, security personnel or students involved in harassment.
– Local police stations must be required to file FIR (a police case) upon the committee’s recommendation against individuals involved in crimes, whether internal or external, that warrant punishment under the country’s laws, with the committee kept fully informed at every stage of the investigation. The administration must be required to consult meaningfully with the committees regarding hostel timings—despitefully called “curfew timings” by the students.
– But the presence of security personnel on campus should be limited, and they should be prohibited from entering classrooms, libraries and student gathering areas except in emergencies.
– Police and other security personnel’s campus entry should require the committee’s consent, barring emergencies.
– All gender-discriminatory policies should be abolished, and female students should have equal participation rights in all activities.
– The ban on political activities should be lifted.
– The administration, security and faculty should cease moral policing of students, with any discriminatory behavior made punishable.
– University and college administrations should create an environment conducive to free speech and healthy debate under the committee’s guidance.
These steps, along with other progressive measures, may not resolve the system’s structural issues but can help improve societal standards and foster an environment of healthy debate and discussion. However, states like Pakistan are historically so obsolete and crisis-ridden that they can only yield to such demands under extreme pressure from the oppressed and exploited—that too only temporarily. Therefore, students will need to wage a fierce and well-organized struggle, not only for their own rights but also for the survival of society.
The role of political activists from all progressive and revolutionary organizations is crucial, as they have successfully brought these issues to the center of political discussion in recent years. Now, they need to go a step further by organizing students around these issues.
The article opened by observing that this system subjects women and children to many-fold oppression. Yet, when women rise in defiance, they become a powerful force, reducing even the most entrenched pillars of tyranny to ashes. This has been evident throughout history, as seen recently in the courageous protests by female students at the Islamic International University, Islamabad. Female students in Pakistan, especially, must be encouraged to take the lead in this struggle, playing a frontline role in building a society free from all forms of oppression and exploitation.
