More than two million children attend Pakistan's madrasas, Islamic seminaries intended to offer free Islamic schooling to poor families. But within their hallowed walls, a dark, disturbing trend of sexual abuse is surfacing, one that has long been silenced by social pressure, legal loopholes, and clerical power. Recently, a harrowing incident report has been uncovered by France 24. 14-year-old Hassan of rural Punjab narrated that he was raped by the mullah of his madrasa. "All the boys at the village were discussing this… I never thought it would happen to me," he said to France 24. Another survivor, Sabir Shah, reported to DW in 2021 that he was abused for more than a year by Mufti Aziz ur Rehman, who is a top cleric linked with Jamiat Ulema Islam. "He threatened me not to speak," Shah remembered. His account became national news after a leaked video resulted in the arrest of the cleric.

The Cycle Of Abuse And Silence

In most instances, clerics have impunity because of their respected position in orthodox villages. Lahore-based analyst Ahsan Raza said clerics were often revered in villages. Even if found to be guilty, a cleric is often pardoned or the matter is covered up on the order of the traditional village consultative council, where clerics have supporters and backers, Raza told DW. Activists point to an alarming trend that a once-abused student is becoming an abuser, or kids are being punished for speaking out against abuse. One heartbreaking report describes a young boy hurled from a madrasa roof after being raped. His father whose son was thrown off the roof of his madrasa after being raped; as well as activists described this incidents to France24

Pakistan’s legal system is ill-equipped to deliver justice. According to DW, with only one forensic lab in the country, cases take months to process, forcing families to withdraw complaints. The country also lacks a unified legal definition of “child,” with varying age thresholds for voting, marriage, and criminal liability. But religious authorities have also reacted against the allegations. Jalal Uddin of Jamiat Ulema Islam characterized the reports as "defamation campaigns" initiated by NGOs as reported by France 24. But evidence depicts a different picture.

According to Sahil, an NGO tracking child sexual abuse, clerics are officially accountable for more cases of sexual abuse than police, teachers, or even family members. Although there have been demands for reforming madrasas since 2003, efforts until now have only concentrated on financing and education, and not prevention of abuse. Attempts to regulate religious schools under Gen Musharraf’s administration were rolled back amid backlash from many.

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Pakistan's dual legal framework, a combination of Islamic codes and colonial laws, tends to hinder justice in cases of sexual abuse. Victims are met with skepticism, humiliation, and even retaliation. As per Dawn in the revised anti-rape law, the police and prosecutors are duty-bound to continue investigation and judicial hearing, even if the survivor resiles, yet they prefer compromises. The difficulty of obtaining DNA forensics is another escape route in many cases. In the end, it was only social media pressure over the Muaviyah case that resulted in a political and legal response against powerful religious lobbies. Over the years, there have also been several reports of gang rapes in such seminaries. In very rare cases do children fight their rapists off and where parents are resilient in their pursuit for justice.

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According to Dawn, Pakistan has at least 17 officially registered helplines for child-related complaints, yet members of Sahil say that hardly any child uses the helplines to complain. Zainab Alert App for missing children offers lopsided results nationwide and reports more abductions of boys than girls in every province, offering no analysis. Human rights attorneys and child welfare organizations are demanding a complete overhaul of Pakistan's madrasa system, not merely curricular reform, but institutional responsibility and independent monitoring. They also highlighted sex education in schools to empower children to report abuse, a topic religious conservatives usually resist. The child abuse within Pakistan's madrasas is not a solitary occurrence. It is a systemic failure, a callous convergence of power, religion, poverty, and silence.