HIBAPRESS
Mostafa El-Ramid, former Minister of Justice and Liberties, warned against practices he described as "barbaric, humiliating, and illegal" witnessed in some higher education institutions in Morocco at the beginning of each academic year, calling on officials to intervene to put an end to them.
El-Ramid stated, in a post published on his Facebook account, that senior students subject new students to forms of humiliation and physical and psychological assault, under the name of "bizutage," which is justified, according to him, by facilitating integration and breaking down barriers between students.
He added that these practices include forcing students to imitate animals, utter indecent phrases, as well as stripping them of their clothes or forcing them to wear women's clothing, depriving them of sleep, and forcing them to walk on their knees to the point of bleeding, and compelling them to perform movements that exceed their physical capabilities.
The former Minister of Justice and Liberties explained that these behaviors can cause psychological harm and may lead some new students to refrain from continuing their studies, warning of higher education institutions turning into torture chambers instead of performing their role in education and upbringing.
El-Ramid called on officials in higher education institutions where these practices are witnessed to put an immediate end to them, considering them barbaric and unacceptable practices that require the necessary legal measures to protect the safety and dignity of students.
