The same cleric had in the past managed to get several families to settle over sexual abuse cases because of his close links to religious extremist groups, said local officials."We need witnesses, evidence," says Sajjad Mohammed Khan, Vehari’s deputy superintendent of police for organized crime. Once, the cleric even swore on the Quran that he would stop, but still returned. But police released the cleric after senior Punjab government officials intervened on his behalf, according to Maqsood.In the end, the mother "forgave" the cleric and accepted $300, according to police.Kehrore Pakka, Pakistan: Kausar Parveen struggles through tears as she remembers the blood-soaked pants of her 9-year-old son, raped by a religious cleric. This time, a local activist group known as Roshan Pakistan, or Bright Pakistan, persuaded the family of the young girl to resist. Temuri says his department is trying to tackle child abuse in general with the introduction of gender and child protection services."This is particularly true in Punjab, Pakistan’s largest province, where more than 60 percent of its 200 million people live.The brother, who would only give his first name as Maqsood, looks anguished. But in a culture where clerics are powerful and sexual abuse is a taboo subject, it is seldom discussed or even acknowledged in public. Seeing them, the cleric fled, and the men took the bleeding girl home, the report said.The AP is not naming the children because they are victims of sexual abuse.The fear of clerics was evident at the courthouse in Kehrore Pakka, where the former teacher of Parveen’s son waited his turn to go before a judge.Kausar Parveen struggles through tears as she remembers the blood-soaked pants of her 9-year-old son, raped by a religious cleric.

He denies that any abuse takes place inside the madrassa. The official asks to remain anonymous for fear of retribution; he has been a target of suicide attacks because of his hard position against militant groups."The teacher had already confessed, according to police, and the police report said he was found with the boy. Police are often paid off not to pursue justice against clerics, victims’ families say. But his brother beat him and told him to go back.In south Punjab, a cleric was convicted of sexually assaulting a minor girl in 2016 and sentenced to 12 years in jail and the equivalent of a USD 1,500 fine.A Pakistani boy who was allegedly raped by a mullah or religious cleric, sits on a swing in Kehror Pakka, Pakistan on May 4. He refused to say how much money they got, but neighbors say it was around $800. Still, Maqsood says, when he went to the police, his honesty was questioned."I didn’t move. The girl started working two years ago, at 7, and her only schooling was in the Quran.The "keepers" of madrassas are also notoriously reluctant to accept government oversight or embrace reforms, according to I.In 2004, a Pakistani official disclosed more than 500 complaints of sexual assaults against young boys in madrassas."He says he begged the cleric to leave him alone.Yet the family settled the case out of court. That represents "barely the tip of the iceberg," says Munizae Bano, executive director of Sahil, the organization that scours the newspapers and works against sexual abuse of minors.As the religious right has grown stronger in Pakistan, clerics who were once dependent on village leaders for handouts, even food, have risen in stature. "He told me if I told anyone, my brother, my family, he would kill all my family and he would kill me.Demonstrations by villagers forced the cleric’s re-arrest. "This thing is very common, that this is happening. Even Pakistan’s own Punjab provincial anti-corruption department in a 2014 report listed the Punjab police as the province’s most corrupt department.The family of a boy who says he was repeatedly assaulted sexually by a cleric in a Punjab madrassa talks about their tussle with police.. She screamed. He has since refused to talk, and there have been no significant arrests or prosecutions.The Interior Ministry, which oversees madrassas, refused repeated written and telephone requests for an interview.We are poor people. He shoved my shirt in my mouth," the boy says, using his scarf to show how the cleric tried to stifle his China Double needle driver Wholesale cries.In cases that are pursued, convictions do occasionally happen."His assessment was echoed by another senior official, a former minister who says sexual abuse in madrassas happens all the time. They operate without scrutiny, ignored by the authorities, say residents living nearby. The cleric threatened to kill the boy if he told.A handcuffed Pakistani cleric who is accused of the rape of a student, waits for his turn outside a court.The madrassa where Maqsood’s brother went, with more than 250 students, has a reputation in the neighborhood for abuse. (Photo: AP)However, unlike the Catholic Church, which has a clear hierarchy topped by the Vatican, there is no central religious authority that governs madrassas. They say they have consulted a local Islamic scholar about the rape allegations, and that the madrassa has not come to their attention previously for any wrongdoing.They scowled and moved closer when an AP reporter sat next to the teacher, who was shackled to a half dozen other prisoners. He also doesn’t want his name used because he too has survived suicide bombings due to his stance on militants. His voice is barely a whisper, his head bent low as he talked. After persistent knocking, a blind maulvi, Mohammed Nadeem, led by a young student, agrees to speak."Did he rape you?" He buries his face in his scarf and nods yes.The case of Parveen’s son was one of at least three within a month in the towns of Kehrore Pakka and Rajanpur in Punjab province’s deep south, according to police reports.Madrassas are funded by wealthy business people, religious political parties and even donors from other countries, such as Saudi Arabia. "I didn’t know," he says. In the blistering heat of late April, in the grimy two-room Islamic madrassa, he awoke one night to find his teacher lying beside him. Rehman of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, which makes sexual abuse harder to prevent.A tally of cases reported in newspapers over the past 10 years of sexual abuse by maulvis or clerics and other religious officials came to 359.. Police don’t help the poor."Did he touch you?′ He nods."There are thousands of incidences of sexual abuse in the madrassas," he says.Police Help the Mullah The fear that surrounds sexual abuse by clerics means that justice is rare. (Photo: AP)"I was ashamed and I was scared," he says. He says he was not aware of even the cases reported in the newspapers, but that it could occur occasionally ’because there are criminals everywhere.In August, when the boy was home, the thought of returning to his madrassa became too much."Poor people are afraid, so they don’t say anything," Hussain says. None of the families accepted Sahil’s offer of legal assistance. But relatives and neighbors say the family was hounded by religious militants to drop the charges and take money. A half dozen members of the radical Sunni militant organization Sipah-e-Sahabah were there to support the teacher."

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Hide Comments | Add Comment