Sabir Shah, a student at a Lahore religious school stated that he was sexually abused by Mufti Aziz ur Rehman for over a year. Shortly after that, a video surfaced and went viral on the Internet, in which another child complained of sexual abuse involving a Shiite cleric.
Students recite the Quran at a seminary in Islamabad. Pic/AFP
Religious leaders who hold sway in Pakistan and have often demanded public hanging or punishment for culprits who insult Islam, have this time around found themselves in a sticky situation as a child sex abuse incident inside a madarsa has rocked the nation.
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Sabir Shah, a student at a Lahore religious school stated that he was sexually abused by Mufti Aziz ur Rehman for over a year. Shortly after that, a video surfaced and went viral on the Internet, in which another child complained of sexual abuse involving a Shiite cleric.
People are blaming religious seminaries and the clerics for their vicious sexual desires, a claim that is vehemently rejected by the clerics, who refuse to concede that their educational institutions or clerics are at fault.
“They [religious clerics] teach the syllabus of their choice, collect funds and use them in their own ways. Whenever there is a case registered and a process of accountability is initiated against these clerics, they use their power and intimidation to stop it,” said Nasreen Jalil, former chairperson of the Senate Committee on human rights.
Experts say that many cases of child abuse by clerics happen because the clerics know that the child’s claim is less likely to be believed. “This prompts the children to not report such cases of sexual assaults and encourages clerics to go on doing what they do with impunity,” said Dr Naila Aziz, a clinical psychologist.
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