‘Sexually assaulted in 7th grade,’ Adeel Hashmi reveals traumatic childhood incident

In a sincere moment on Masarrat Misbah’s show, Pakistani actor and television host Adeel Hashmi bravely shared his personal story of being a victim of sexual assault during childhood.

Hashmi recounted the distressing incident where he was targeted by older students.
“The smile you see now is after facing many challenges in life,” he said ruefully. He admitted that the trauma had left lasting scars on him.

He revealed that the traumatic events happened when he was in 7th grade, causing him emotional distress as a younger and smaller student facing bullying from older peers. Describing the difficult times, Adeel mentioned, “It was the 1980s. I was in 7th or 8th grade. Since I was in a public school, many students were older due to failing grades. They had been in the same class for years while I had just moved up from 6th grade.”
He went on to recount that he was not big or tall at that point. “Even my behavior was timid, like a cat or a mouse. These eight or 10 students would bully me.” Adeel bravely disclosed a distressing incident from those years, saying, “I can share one incident from that time. I might not tell everything as it’s hard for me. I was sexually assaulted in 7th grade. This happened in an all-boys school where no one could help me.”
Seeking guidance, he turned to his elder brother at the time, unsure of how to handle the situation. Unfortunately, his brother, unaware of the gravity of the bullying and assault, advised him to deal with it on his own. This left Adeel feeling isolated and without a support system.

“I would stutter and I knew if I told my teachers, these kids would bully me more. Only one time I said to my brother that these hostel kids tease me and whether I should tell our father. And he said no, you can resolve that on your own.”
Despite the challenges, Adeel chose not to confide in his parents due to fears of their reaction and the difficulty of explaining his painful experiences. This conversation on the show marked the first time he openly discussed these difficult memories with the public.
His mother would hear about these traumatic experiences through the show. Adeel stressed the importance of creating a safe space for survivors to speak out about child sexual abuse and its long-term effects on individuals’ lives.