AlRawabi School for Girls: A Second Season and Great Lessons

Originally, AlRawabi School for Girls was set to be a miniseries focusing on the impact of bullying at a prestigious all-girls school with a subplot on the societal expectations of young women. However, due to positive reviews and high ratings, AlRawabi School for Girls became a series after being renewed for a second season.

Just like the previous season, AlRawabi School for Girls focuses on the same plot of bullying and the societal expectations of young women. However, the focal point of this season is the impact social media has on young people and the lengths people are willing to go in order to fit in.

The show has given eye-opening insight to viewers. Here are three crucial lessons to learn from this season:

Lesson 1: watch what you post on social media

Sarah, who transfers to the prestigious all-girls school, longs to achieve popularity at school and on social media. Upon gaining the popularity she longs for, she befriends another popular student, Tasneem, and becomes a member of her clique and a group member for a dance project.

At first, everything is going well for Sarah, her social media content is receiving positive attention and she’s acquiring brand deals and invites to events. Things take a different turn when an admirer, Mo Dady, asks Sarah to send racy photos and videos in exchange for money, to which she complies. Mo Dady then threatens to make the content public if Sarah does not meet up with him within a certain period.

While attempting to sneak out of school, Sara gets caught by her teacher, Ms. Abeer, who reports Mo Dady to the authorities when Sarah tells her what happened. It may seem like things returned to normal, but that wasn’t the case.

Sarah’s brother, Jawad, unintentionally notices a racy video when he hears her phone ring. Although completely shocked, Jawad takes a screenshot and sends the video to himself. While attempting to report what happened to his sister the following day at school, a classmate snatches Jawad’s phone from him and uploads the video.

The video becomes viral, and both siblings receive ridicule from their classmates over it. While Jawad apologizes to Sarah for unintentionally causing the video to go viral, Sarah, who accepts her brother’s apology, then learns that social media is not particularly significant and that one should never allow it to define who they are.

Lesson 2: not all that glitters is gold

At the beginning of season two, Sarah wanted to be like Tasneem. Not only was Tasneem popular at school, but she was also popular on social media. Throughout the season, viewers would discover that Tasneem’s life was far from glamorous.

Although Tasneem comes from a wealthy family, her mother puts a lot of pressure on her to be perfect. In response to this issue, Tasneem stress eats and purges. Her eating disorder shows that being beloved and coming from a wealthy background does not always mean one has it well.

Lesson 3: the impacts of bullying

Farah, Tasneem’s cousin, wants to fit in and be accepted by her and her friends. However, Hiba, one of Tasneem’s friends, isn’t willing to welcome her. Throughout the season, Farah often faces ridicule from Hiba, several other girls within their friend group, and classmates. She attempts to stand up for herself and let others know they do not need to stick to the status quo, but no one wants to hear her until it’s too late.

Shams’ video project appeared to be the final straw for Farah. During a scene featuring her, the rest of the students start laughing at Farah, which prompts her to leave the auditorium crying. When Hiba searches for Farah to apologize, Farah is found dead of an apparent suicide.

Unfortunately, many young people have turned to suicide as a way to escape intimidation. The final scene of this season sends a strong message about the tragic impact of bullying.