During a recent interview, actor Adeel Hashmi opened up about his horrific experience of sexual abuse in a 1980s secondary boys school with renowned makeup artist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Masarrat Misbah.
“I was in grade 7 or 8, and because I was in a public school, my class had many students who had been failing for a couple of years,” Hashmi revealed in a heartfelt conversation. Since I had just been promoted from grade 6, they had been in the same class for years, so they were much older than me.
“I wasn’t large or tall either. I am extremely timid, almost like a cross between a cat and a mouse regarding temperament. And these eight or ten students would pick on me,” the well-known person recalled. “I can tell you about one incident that happened around that time, but I probably won’t tell you everything, and I might cry a little bit in the middle. In the seventh grade, I experienced sexual assault.
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When this wasn’t a [widely accepted] idea, they would sexually abuse me. This is a school for boys alone. Hashmi recalled, “No teacher, no elder, my brother, or my parents could do anything.”
The actor revealed that he was unsure of how to handle the issue and that he was never able to find the bravery to talk about his ordeal with his parents or teachers. “I only recall telling my brother once that these hostel kids are bullying me, so maybe I should tell our father,” he added. “No, you have to solve it on your own,” he replied.
In addition, Hashmi said that this was just one of many similar experiences he had, and that, in contrast to everyone else’s wanting to recreate childhood, he is grateful that those days are behind him and doesn’t want to think about them ever again.