A 12-year-old Indian schoolgirl has taken her own life after allegedly being period-shamed by a teacher.
Officials say the girl took her life on Monday near her home in southern Indiaโs Tamil Nadu,The Guardian reports. She left a suicide note claiming her teacher had โtorturedโ her.
According to the BBC, the girlโs note began: โAmma [mother], please forgive me.โ
โI do not know why my teacher is making complaints against me. I still canโt understand why they are harassing and torturing me like this,โ it read.
The girlโs mother told BBC Tamil that her daughter had been ordered to leave her class because of a stain on her clothes.
โMy daughter got her periods while she was in school last Saturday,โ she said. โWhen she informed the teacher, she was given a duster cloth to use as a pad.
โThe teacher made my daughter stand outside the class. How can a 12-year-old withstand such humiliation?โ
Girls and women who are menstruating are often considered as โuncleanโ or โimpureโ in parts of rural India, with menstruation considered a taboo topic.
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