‘Tip of the iceberg’: Indonesian teen’s death spotlights rising bullying trend in religious schools

Bintang Balqis Maulana, a 14-year-old student at the Al Hanifiyah pesantren, in Kediri, East Java, died on February 23, reportedly after being severely beaten. Four senior students aged between 16 and 18 have been taken into custody by the police and subsequently declared suspects in his murder.

“From our reconstruction of the case, we have learned the victim was the recipient of repeated beatings over the course of three days,” Kediri Police Chief Bramastyo Priaji said on February 29.

The death of the teenager from Banyuwangi town has provoked outrage across social media, where Indonesians have been venting their anger, largely towards the four perpetrators but also at the school management.

“So furious the pesantren folk feign innocence in all this! They were at the very least negligent!” wrote Facebook user Renaldi Saputra.

Surabaya resident Lucky Anwari, 35, said he was shocked by a video clip on social media showing the state of Bintang’s body.

“The bruises and injuries were there for all to see, and yet his school initially told his parents he had taken a fall in the bathroom and even asked them not to uncover his shroud before burial.”

Bintang’s death has become emblematic of a culture of violence and bullying in schools that has worsened in recent years. The Indonesian Commission for Child Protection (KPAI) recorded 3,877 complaints from parents whose children had experienced violence or bullying at school last year.

Cleric Aan Anshori, from the progressive Gusdurian Network and spokesman for the Jombang Network of Pesantren Alumni, said the known cases of physical violence at pesantren were just “the tip of the iceberg” because many more were going unreported.

“We suspect there have been more cases where the parents