Child abuse in elementary Quranic school, known in some regions as madrassas, or Quanric is a concerning issue that has been reported in various regions. Several cases of child sexual abuse and physical abuse have been documented, raising serious questions about the safety and well-being of children attending madrassas. It is important to note that these cases are not representative of all madrassas, as there are many reputable institutions that prioritize the welfare of their students.
Several sources highlight the prevalence of child abuse and the challenges associated with addressing these issues. Activists and organisations have worked to expose cases of child abuse and call for action against the perpetrators. [1] [2] The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has engaged religious and traditional leaders, as well as government and civil society, in efforts to protect children from various forms of abuse, including child marriage, violent corporal punishment, domestic abuse, and child labor. [3]
Child abuse refers to the physical, sexual, and/ or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, particularly by a parent or caregiver. It may include any act or failure to act by a caregiver or parent that results in harm, actual or potential, to a child and can occur in a child's home, organisations, schools, or community. [4] Child abuse can take various forms, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect. [5] [6]
Different professionals, social and cultural groups, and even different time periods have varying definitions of what constitutes child abuse. [7] [8] Abuse and maltreatment are often used interchangeably, and child maltreatment can be an umbrella term that covers all forms of child abuse and neglect. [9] [10]: 11 The definition of child maltreatment depends on cultural values related to children, child development, and parenting. [11] Definitions of child maltreatment can vary among different sectors of society that deal with the issue, such as child protection agencies, legal and medical communities, public health officials, researchers, practitioners, and child advocates. [12]
Abuse usually refers to deliberate acts of commission, while neglect refers to acts of omission. [13] Child maltreatment includes both acts of commission and acts of omission by parents or caregivers that cause actual or threatened harm to a child. Some health professionals and authors consider neglect as part of the definition of abuse, while others do not. [14] Delayed effects of child abuse and neglect, especially emotional neglect, and the diversity of acts that qualify as child abuse are also factors. [15]
The almajiri system has been highly controversial in Nigeria. Some believe that the almajiri system was originally good, but has since deteriorated. [19] Critics say that the almajiri system promotes poverty and neglects, abuses, and exploits young boys, who wear tattered clothing, beg for food on the streets, and work for free. [20] In one study of almajirai in the Kaduna state, 38% of boys surveyed said they were tired all the time, and 62% reported feeling hungry.[ citation needed] In the same study, 88% of almajirai said they spend most of their time begging.[ citation needed] Some Muslims criticize this practice, as begging is generally discouraged in Islam.[ citation needed] Moreover, the conditions that almajirai live in are often unhygienic and not conducive to their health. [19]
The almajiri system is often attacked for promoting youth delinquency and violence and for providing street gangs and Boko Haram with an ample supply of vulnerable young recruits. [21] [22] [23] People believe that the almajiri system fuels Boko Haram because 1) the children are radically indoctrinated and manipulated by their Quranic teachers and 2) the children are economically disadvantaged and live without their parents, which makes them easy targets for recruitment. [24] [22] [20] Some say that Boko Haram would not exist with almajirai, while others say there's no evidence that Boko Haram recruits from almajirai systematically more than they recruit from any other vulnerable youth demographic in Nigeria. [23] [24] A recent study involving interviews with scholars whose works have associated the Almajirai with terrorism found no evidence supporting the extremism discourse other than hypothetical worst-case scenarios based on an economic deprivation thesis, which contributes to securitisation of the Almajirai. [25]
Additionally, since the almajirai do not receive a secular education (math, science, English, etc.), they are often unequipped for professional jobs. [22] [26]
Because almajirai beg on the streets and are seen by some as unproductive to society, the children face widespread stigmatization: some consider them to be "the butchers of Nigeria,” "urchins" and "nuisances." [21] [22] [24]
In Pakistan, a high-profile case in Lahore involving a madrasa student and a religious leader garnered significant attention, shedding light on the issue. [27] [28] Investigations and police reports have uncovered allegations of sexual harassment, rape, and physical abuse by Islamic clerics teaching at madrassas. [29] There have been calls for reform and action against the perpetration of abuse. [30] [31]
Over time, the marabouts started to stay in the cities…Why return to the village, where they had to work the land for long hours, when [in the city] a child comes daily with money, sugar, and rice? [34]
Perry warns that the above view can imply that only urban daaras exploit talibés. She contends that urban and rural daaras “are the same. There is just one difference: the urban talibe’s ‘farm’ is the urban street, and [the] ‘crop’ he harvests is cash, and not peanuts.” [35]
The practice of marabouts taking on talibés is seldom subject to state regulation, making it easier for abuse of this relationship to occur. [36] The Senegalese government has recently created state-regulated daaras in order to reduce abuses. However, urban daaras with resident talibés form the most common form of Quranic schools. [37]
Some marabouts, instead of teaching their talibés about the Quran, exploit them for labour, typically through forced begging on the streets. The nature of this exploitation exposes such talibés to disease, injury, death, physical abuse and sexual abuse.
A 2007 UNICEF study of child begging in Dakar, the capital of Senegal, found that "the large majority of child beggars (90%) are talibés". [38] UNICEF has estimated there to be between 50,000 and 100,000 begging talibés in Senegal. [39] A 2010 report suggests that the number of talibés is on the rise. [40] Other researchers, however, warn that "estimates on the numbers of street children rest upon largely elastic and nebulous definitions." [41] Indeed, there are no official statistics to substantiate these claims. Others respond that the rise of Arabic-maderas is causing the number of talibés to decline. [42]
HRW has warned that the social status enjoyed by marabouts has emboldened "those responsible for the proliferation of forced child begging and other abuses committed by the marabouts against talibé children." [43] Perry cautiously agrees that "reverence of marabouts and respect for the talibé institution may be a dominant ideology, but it is not now, nor ever was, totalising or uncontested". [44]
Platform for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (PPDH) along with Human Rights Watch, reported in December 2019 the overlooked abuse, exploitation and neglect of thousands of talibé children at traditional Quranic schools. The Senegalese government was accused of neglecting and not doing enough to tackle the widespread and chronic abuse faced by children at the religious schools. [45]
The CRC creates rights to adequate living standards for children, with regard to the means of the primary caregivers, as well as the means of the state to support the primary caregivers. [46] HRW argues that states, parents and marabouts are in breach of CRC in failing to oversee the adequate housing, care and nourishment of talibés.
HRW also cites the following as other abuses of talibés which breach CRC.
In 2015, the director of the Safe Child organisation, Siddiqa Kubaida, alleged that two children were raped in two khalawi in Khartoum North and Shambat, by two sheikhs. The organisation drew attention to the death of one child after the incident, and the suffering of the other. [53]
In 2016, in an interview with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, Sheikh Fadlallah Muhammad Zain, one of the graduates of the khalwa system, acknowledged that flogging is the most widespread punishment for kids who do not memorise their daily course from the Qur'an. [54] When he was asked about chaining students, Zain said "In our khalwa, I witnessed this kind of punishment once, but the irony is that the one who took the responsibility of tying the child with iron chains was not the sheikh, but the father of the child, and he did that of his own free will, desiring that his child complete memorising the Holy Qur'an". [54]
In 2020, a BBC report about khalawi, shocked many, inside or outside Sudan, due to the painful scenes of violence and ill-treatment of students. [55] [56] The BBC Arabic investigation, revealed that children, under the age of five, were subjected to systematic abuse, including being chained, whipped, shackled, forced to sleep naked on extremely hot iron surfaces, and confinement in dark rooms, with deprivation of food and drink, and sexual assault. [57] BBC Arabic conducted this investigative report in partnership with the " Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism" network. It included secret filming inside 23 khalawi, over 18 months in Sudan. [58] By December 2020, the film had led to a major public reaction in Sudan, with legislative changes and governmental promises of prosecutions. However, a follow-up report by the BBC in December 2020 found the government had been slow to respond, and there had been little real change. [59]
In 2022, 15 new rape cases were reported in a khalwa in North Darfur. The cases came to light after an investigation of a different case that involved more than 20 children. The journalistic investigation indicated that families of victims are generally afraid to report incidents of sexual and physical abuse, as most sheikhs are well respected and feared in the community. [60] In the same year, the rape of 10 children by a sheikh in a khalwa in western Sudan was reported by Al-Arabia. [61] The sheikh was sentenced to 15 years for sexual harassment and harm, and not rape or pedophilia, which was criticised by lawyers and children’s rights experts. [61] [62]
Yasser Moussa, a mental health specialist and expert in the field of children’s rights, believes that Al-Khalawi in its current form perpetuates a vicious cycle of child abuse, because most of the students depend on sheikhs who are also a khalwa graduate that may have gone through similar physical or sexual abuse, which make them have more ability to apply the same practices they were exposed to during their childhood. [61] Another psychiatric consultant indicated that what is revealed of sexual abuse does not equal one percent of the crimes committed. [62] Political analyst Huthaifa Al-Jallad said: “Through my direct and personal observations of one of the khalawi near my house; I noticed that the sheikh sends his children to modern schools, while he exploits his students in work inside the khalwa, perform various household chores inside the sheikh house, and bringing alms. This sheikh (like many) is a charlatan that is often visited by women and some men seeking sorcery". [63]
The living conditions at the khalwa were assessed, and the findings indicate that infectious diseases are common among khalwa students, and their living environment facilitates the transmission of these diseases. Stool examination results showed that a percentage of students had worms, ova, and red blood cells in their stools, along with splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, infectious conjunctivitis, trachoma, anaemia and malaria. [64] [65]
In the UK, there have been claims of child abuse in madrassas. [66] Local authorities have been asked to provide information on the number of cases, indicating a rise in reported incidents. [67] Efforts have been made to address the issue, with calls for reform and improved safeguards within madrassas. [68]
Child abuse and exploitation of Talibé children in Quranic schools in Senegal have been documented by organizations such as Human Rights Watch. [69] These abuses include physical abuse, beatings, sexual abuse, and neglect. [70]
Many do not consider neglect a kind of abuse, especially in a condition where the parents are involved as it is often considered unintentional and arise from a lack of knowledge or awareness. This may be true in certain circumstances, and often it results in insurmountable problems being faced by the parents.
[T]he issue of child neglect is still not well understood, partially because child neglect does not have a consistent, universally accepted definition. Some researchers consider child neglect and child abuse to be one in the same [ sic], while other researchers consider them to be conceptually different. Factors that make child neglect difficult to define include: (1) Cultural differences; motives must be taken into account because parents may believe they are acting in the child's best interests based on cultural beliefs (2) the fact that the effect of child abuse is not always immediately visible; the effects of emotional neglect specifically may not be apparent until later in the child's development, and (3) the large spectrum of actions that fall under the category of child abuse.
{{
cite book}}
: |work=
ignored (
help)