Child Abuse in Qawmi & Hifz: High Time to Safeguard Madrasa Education

Published on: September 15, 2026

Bangladesh, a nation of nearly 200 million people where nearly 90% of it's population are Muslims, has historically practised a distinct educational stream known as madrasa education. Similar to mainstream education, madrasa education also has a regulatory government board named the Madrasa Board, follows a government-authorised curriculum, and receives government incentives such as logistical support and salaries for teachers. However, a few other religious education streams also exist in Bangladesh that are neither controlled nor monitored by the government. They run independently, manage their financial activities through charities and public funds, and set their own policies, curricula, and syllabuses. Thus, the government does not have direct access to such institutions. This regulatory vacuum has repeatedly drawn concern regarding institutional practices of hazing and even sexual abuse in such unmonitored religious educational institutions. Madrasas, which are expected to uphold religious values and ethics, have been accused of continuous sexual offences against their students and even teachers. Hundreds of reports have been filed; thousands have remained unnoticed or unreported. Such practices have spread like a pandemic and need immediate intervention.

Prior to examining the issue, a comprehensive understanding of how religious institutions operate in Bangladesh warrants analysis. In Bangladesh, three types of religious education are commonly practised for Muslims at the institutional level. They are Alia, Qawmi, and Hifz. Unlike Qawmi and Hifz, Alia is a government-regulated system that has an education board operating under the oversight of the Ministry of Education. It has a full curriculum that students follow, and the public examinations Alia students take are considered equivalent to those in mainstream education (Dakhil/SSC, Alim/HSC, Fazil/Bachelor’s, Kamil/Master’s). However, ambiguity arises when the other two forms of education are introduced. Qawmi and Hifz institutions, which focus predominantly on religious education, are entirely self-regulated organisations. Regardless, in today’s Bangladesh, nearly 25,000 Qawmi madrasas and 12,000 Hifz khanas exist, enrolling nearly 10 millions of children who spend years in education without any official accreditation or formal acknowledgement.

Qawmi and Hifz are conventional residential education systems that obligate students to reside within the madrasa premises. Generally, most students start their journey here at a very early age, around five to six years old. Hifz generally spans three to five years to complete, depending on the individual's capacity to memorise the entire Quran. In contrast, Qawmi requires students to understand and analyse the Sihah Sittah, culminating in ‘Dawra-e-Hadith’, which is considered equivalent to a Master’s/Kamil degree and requires roughly 10–12 years to complete. Because this academic progression remains predominantly residential, mandatory dormitory living restricts parental interaction primarily to official holiday periods. This structural isolation constitutes the root of the problem. 

In order to refine my understanding more precisely, I talked to some former Qawmi and Hifz madrasa students to deepen our understanding of the actual scenario of sexual abuse within madrasas. Majority of the responders acknowledged this as a heinous practice that had never gone unnoticed but had often been ignored. However, some denied the claim that the religious community passively tolerates such misconduct. Rather, they claimed that such accusations are taken seriously within their community. However, there are some triggering factors that may contribute to the number of cases compared to other streams of education, but such variables have not been widely discussed or presented before.

Saifuddin Bin Mozaffor, a former Qawmi student and a graduate student at the University of Dhaka, mentioned that the level of moral education among teachers who work in government or MPO-affiliated schools or madrasas is comparatively higher than among those who work in Qawmi madrasas. According to him, better candidates with professionalism and ethical sense often seek for a standard and acknowledged job, such as in primary schools or Alia madrasas. As Qawmi madrasas receive no state subsidies and run entirely on charity, the salaries of teachers there are extremely low. Thus, those who do not have the educational qualifications required to work elsewhere may gain easier access to such madrasas. The loose scrutiny process in appointing teachers and the lack of accountability to a higher authority create a loophole that can be exploited by sexual abusers, resulting in a large number of sexual abuse reports every year.

Moreover, in other streams of the Bangladeshi education system, residential schooling is not a regular practice. Only a handful of schools provide opportunities for their students to stay in dorms, and an even smaller fraction enforce mandatory residency. But in Qawmi and Hifz education, it is often a prevalent requirement for children to stay in the madrasa until they complete Dawra-e-Hadith or Hifz. Such a requirement may elevate the number of such cases numerically. In the mainstream education system, similar incidents might also occur, but as the number of residential schools is small, fewer incidents are reported.

Another reason behind such practices within madrasa education is social detachment. Tajinur Rahman, a Hafiz-e-Quran and graduate of Department of Arabic, Dhaka University has shared a different insight. According to him, ethics is not curriculum-based knowledge; it has to be practised and owned. Social interaction helps children experience different people and share ideas and thoughts, which is far less likely in the residential madrasa system in Bangladesh. The children are largely limited to interacting with their peers, studying with them, living with them, and sleeping in the same residential environment. Only when permitted by the institution do they get to meet their parents and go home. Such limited interaction, over time, can create a boundary of hesitation around the child, making them uncomfortable sharing what they may be going through in their institution. This may stop children from expressing their suffering and experiences of harassment to others, which eventually gives a free pass to harassers, as they know such incidents are less likely to be reported.

A minor from Qawmi/Hifz, in most cases, fails to comprehend what he is enduring. Subjected to abuse before they can even grasp the concept of sexual violence, they carry this unaddressed trauma for the rest of their lives. While some remain deeply scarred, others eventually absorb and repeat the very behavior inflicted upon them, continuing this cycle within an environment that is rarely exposed to external scrutiny. 

Sexual abuse in Qawmi and Hifz madrasas is not a new issue that has arisen recently. It has been reported for years, a dark reality involving religious figures and institutions considered among the most noble. Bangladeshi religious people, in general, highly respect madrasa teachers and often leave their children in their care. Those who are perpetrators can take advantage of this trust to continue their abuse. As the cases are not becoming any fewer, the state must establish oversight bodies and enforce formal registration for unregistered madrasas to ensure systematic tracking and monitoring. Though regulating every institution presents an immense operational challenge, the state can no longer afford to leave these hidden environments unscrutinized. 

Institutional autonomy matters, but the safety of our children is non-negotiable.