Catching My Teacher: The Women Seeking Justice – BBC World Service Documentaries

Two former students lift the lid on alleged sexual abuse and cover-ups at Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia. #BBCEye tracks down those accused and investigates how powerful institutions helped them evade justice. Subscribe to our channel: 👉🏽 https://bbc.in/3VyyriM In Indonesia, millions of parents send their children to Islamic boarding schools. But former students say sexual abuse can remain hidden behind the authority and influence of religious leaders. This investigation follows two women who speak publicly for the first time about their experiences as students, and examines allegations that politically influential institutions sought to silence them and protect those accused. Sukma, who graduated in December 2025 on Lombok island, near Bali, says she was abused by her headteacher. She discovers secret recordings in which he pushes students to lie and pretend all the evidence against him was made up. Wearing a hidden camera provided by the BBC, Sukma attempts to confront him. Ira, who studied in East Java, says she was sadistically abused over several years by the son of the school’s founder. He has never been charged in relation to her allegations, but was convicted of sexually abusing another student and sentenced to seven years in prison. BBC undercover reporters track him down and reveal he has been secretly released early. 🎥 Watch this documentary in Indonesian here:    • Aib sang guru: Di balik dinding pesantren ...   00:00 A culture of silence: an open secret 02:03 Ira breaks her silence 09:36 Bechi: a secret early release? 12:22 Sukma comes forward 13:50 'Think of me as your father' 18:15 Silent no more: lawyer reveals cover-up 24:00 Selected for private forest meetings 26:00 Sukma finds hidden recordings 34:34 "This stops with us" 36:46 Undercover to track down Bechi 42:26 Confronting the headmaster 📽️ Watch more investigative documentaries from our award-winning BBC Eye investigations team at this playlist:    • BBC Eye Documentaries   🎧 Listen to the accompanying investigative podcast, World of Secrets: Catching My Teacher, here or wherever you get your BBC podcasts: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w1... 🎞 You may also be interested in watching these BBC Eye documentaries:    • Exposed: China’s growing hidden camera por...      • The Darkest Web: Inside the internet’s mos...      • The Schools that Break Children - BBC Worl...      • Inside Russian-Run Prisons in Occupied Ukr...      • The Careless Machine: Instagram’s Hidden A...   ---------------- This is the official BBC World Service YouTube channel. If you like what we do, you can also find us here: Instagram 👉🏽   / bbcworldservice   Twitter 👉🏽   / bbcworldservice   Facebook 👉🏽   / bbcworldservice   BBC World Service website 👉🏽 https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldserviceradio Thanks for watching and subscribing! #Indonesia #Documentary #InvestigativeJournalism #BoardingSchool #BBCWorldService #WorldService