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Sexual abuse is a pervasive and longstanding problem at madrassas in #Pakistan, an @AP investigation has found. In a culture where clerics are powerful and sexual abuse is a taboo subject, it is seldom discussed or even acknowledged in public. apnews.com/ddd9660f63ae44…
One senior official in a ministry tasked with registering these cases says many madrassas are “infested” with sexual abuse. He compares the situation to the abuse of children by priests in the Catholic Church.
“There are thousands of incidences of sexual abuse in the madrassas,”
“There are thousands of incidences of sexual abuse in the madrassas,”
His assessment was echoed by another senior official, a former minister who says sexual abuse in madrassas happens all the time. Neither men wanted their names used for fear of retribution.
“That’s a very dangerous topic,” he says.
“That’s a very dangerous topic,” he says.
Tally of cases reported in newspapers 2007-2017 of sexual abuse by maulvis or clerics and other religious officials came to 359. That represents “barely the tip of the iceberg,” says Munizae Bano, exec director of Sahil, the organization that works vs sexual abuse of minors.
“In 2004, a #Pakistani official disclosed more than 500 complaints of sexual assaults against young boys in madrassas. He has since refused to talk, and there have been no significant arrests or prosecutions.”
