The Blue Whale Challenge has become a household name, mostly among people with an internet connection
KARACHI: The Blue Whale Challenge has become a household name, mostly among people with an internet connection. In Pakistan too, reports of the game being played has been doing rounds and more recently, two girls from Jhelum have been found playing it.
The girls, second and first year students, had self-inflicted injuries on their arms that alerted the school administration and led them contacting their parents. This shows that the school administration closely monitors its students, which is a good thing. However, what is unfortunate is their lack of knowledge about mental health as their only solution to the situation was expelling the two girls. That’s quite a shame. According to the principal, the decision was made so that it would prevent other students from becoming involved in the game.
Firstly, there is no guarantee that it will happen. In fact, what is more likely is that it makes students look for ways that would make it harder for the administration to point out any behavioural changes, for instance, adorning an attire that hides any injuries. Secondly, the girls already were in a state of mind where their depression led them to a self-harming game that deprived them of education and resulted in their expulsion — publicly embarrassing them. This will only further push them towards despair.
The school should be advised to reverse its decision and instead suspend them for a temporary period that will give them enough time to seek professional help.
Kiran Ismail
Published in The Express Tribune, October 4th, 2017.
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