I used to work at Sahil, an NGO addressing child sexual abuse in an Islamic country that most certainly didn’t want to deal with it. The stories of abuse were heartwrenching. But “It doesn’t happen here because we’re Muslim,” was the prevailing opinion.
Contrary to popular belief it is not strangers who most often lure and abuse children, it is the trusted people who have access to them - family members, friends, teachers.
It doesn’t matter if you live in a liberal or conservative society, one that is segregated or permissive in its sexual attitudes - sexual abuse occurs in every single society and nation.And probably every clan if we want to be really honest about it.
There is a reason that a separation occurs at puberty between brothers and sisters, parents and children of the opposite sex. Islam is a pretty practical religion and recognizes both the highest potential of a human to know God, and the basest instincts to hurt themselves and others.
In spite of this warning about even the closest of family members, it’s common in Pureland for children to be left completely alone with strangers - with tutors or with maulvis who come to teach children how to recite the Qur’an. They are sent in to learn, the door is shut, and no one bothers them for the duration of the lesson. Leaving children that vulnerable goes beyond naivete and becomes criminal.
My mother always kept us in a middle room with the doors on all sides wide open and made sure to pop in and out unexpectedly. Sure, it may have interrupted or distracted us at times from our recitation or studies but we also felt protected and the teacher knew he was being watched.
Many others weren’t so lucky. Within my own circle of Purelander friends and family there are too many cases of abuse by maulvis and “uncles.” No one ever went public with it. It was something only to be whispered about, if that.
Within religious schools, cases are either hushed or mediation takes place to prevent the family or victim from bringing a lawsuit against the perpetrator or school because it will “look bad.”
Tell me, how long will this denial work? Someday someone will speak out, and rightly so.
We have abuse in madrassas worldwide that could someday turn into a child abuse scandal on a par with the Catholic Church. The sheer humiliation of the Church and disgust that people have felt toward it in the wake of the scandal should motivate administrators to act, even if nothing else will.
Special treatment for faith schools must stop when it comes to enforcing child protection legislation. Teachers must be subject to background checks before they are allowed to come into contact with children.
There must be zero-tolerance for abusers in our midst. Schools would do well to bring the perpetrators to justice themselves instead of trying to hush the matter up and pretend nothing ever happened.
We expect nothing less at regular schools so why do we let those standards slide when it comes to religious schools? Are our children worth less in the madrassa than they are outside? I’m tired of culture and adab being used to support heinous actions and attitudes. As another Dorothy might have said, “We’re not in Karachi anymore.“
Transparency, accountability, procedures are badly needed at many Muslim insititutions for the protection of our community.
*sigh
Why do we pack up our denial in trunks and bring it with us to the New World?
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