Calls for Justice After 3 Afghan Girls Violently Attacked in Houston School
The Council on American-Islamic Relations-Houston (CAIR-Houston) says the incident left the three girls injured, with one girl so badly hurt that she was hospitalized for four days and now has to wear a neck brace, Fox 26 Houston reported .
The group says the girls were surrounded by at least 20 students during lunch and were physically assaulted. CAIR said the attack was motivated by the girls' Afghan background and their decision to wear hijabs.
A Houston-based civil rights group is calling on the Houston Independent School District (HISD) to take urgent action after three Afghan middle school students were allegedly attacked by a group of their classmates at Paul Revere Middle School on March 3.
'It is absolutely unacceptable for any student to be allegedly violently assaulted and then abandoned by the very institution that is supposed to protect them,' said CAIR-Houston Director William White.-
He added that HISD must approve school transfers for the girls, investigate the attack fully, and ensure all responsible are held accountable, including any staff members who failed to intervene. CAIR is also calling for trauma-informed support for the victims and their families, along with stronger policies to prevent future attacks.
CAIR-Houston shared a blurred photo of the injured girl in a neck brace on social media, and a video of the alleged incident showing a staff member trying to break up the fight.
In a statement, HISD said that disciplinary actions had been taken against seven students involved in the attack. The district said the actions were in line with its Code of Conduct and emphasized that student safety is taken seriously.
'The seven aggressors in the incident received disciplinary consequences aligned with the district's code of conduct. The victim in the incident has been offered a school transfer, which is currently in process,' HISD said.
The district also stated that school staff met with the family of one of the victims on March 6, shortly after the incident, and informed them of their right to press criminal charges.
However, the family and their attorney, Ahsan Patoli, say the process has been too slow. 'What we're asking for is very, very simple,' Patoli said. 'We asked for the girls to be transferred into another school. This incident happened more than a month ago. We're still waiting on that to happen.'
While HISD claims some of the details shared by CAIR do not match the results of their internal investigation, they agree that the attack was serious and needed action.
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