Former Indonesian boarding school students expose head teacher's abuse

September 20, 2026 at 04:01 AM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Two former star pupils of an Islamic boarding school in Lombok, Indonesia, recorded their former head teacher pleading with them to cover up sexual abuse allegations. Yusron Azzahidi and Ziadatur Rahmah, now university students, began investigating Ahmad Imanuddin Sumar after Zia disclosed that he assaulted her when she was 16. The BBC World Service investigation airs September 21.

Key Facts

Ahmad Imanuddin Sumar, known as 'Abah', was the head teacher of Abu Barokat Islamic boarding school on Lombok.
Ziadatur Rahmah, known as Zia, told Yusron Azzahidi that Abah sexually assaulted her when she was 16.
Yusron recorded a phone call in which Abah pleaded with him to 'cover the shame of your teacher'.
Indonesia's National Commission on Violence Against Women has described sexual abuse in Islamic boarding schools as a national emergency.
The BBC World Service investigation 'Catching My Teacher' airs on iPlayer from 00:01 Monday 21 September.

The Allegations

Ziadatur Rahmah, a former star pupil at Abu Barokat school, disclosed to Yusron Azzahidi that head teacher Ahmad Imanuddin Sumar sexually assaulted her when she was 16. She said Abah intercepted her in the school gardens when she needed the toilet during class and asked her to accompany him to his house on the premises. Once inside, he told her he loved her, pulled her onto his lap, kissed her, and touched her body, she told the BBC World Service. The assault ended when one of Abah's children banged on the locked front door, and Zia fled out the back. Zia said the experience left her feeling 'very dirty, ruined, and lost'.

The Investigation

Yusron Azzahidi began investigating Abah a year before the recorded phone call, after Zia's revelation during a phone conversation between Jakarta and Cairo. Yusron and his old school friends collated testimony from several students who said Abah sexually assaulted them. When Abah discovered the collated testimony, he called Yusron from Yusron's family home and pleaded with him to keep quiet. Yusron recorded the call, in which Abah sobbed, 'Cover the shame of your teacher. Everyone makes mistakes, my child.' Legal experts say many abuse cases in Islamic boarding schools never reach court because victims are persuaded to withdraw allegations or pressured into silence.