A legal notice has been served on the government demanding immediate, effective, preventive, and structural state action to prevent ongoing sexual abuse, rape, sodomy, and cruel treatment against children across the country.
Supreme Court lawyer Muhammad Nurul Huda sent the notice on Monday, addressed to the home secretary, education secretary, law secretary, and religious affairs secretary.
The notice stipulates that if necessary steps are not taken within five days, a writ petition will be filed in the High Court.
It calls for the formulation, establishment, and implementation of a uniform national-level Child Sexual Abuse Prevention and Protection Cell for all types of madrasas, including Alia, Qawmi, and Hifz.
Additionally, it urges the formation of a Child Sexual Abuse Prevention and Protection Committee in every madrasa and residential religious educational institution to receive complaints of child sexual abuse and take required measures, following the model directed in the BNW case.
The legal notice further demands that National, District, and Upazila Child Welfare Boards – formed under Sections 7 to 9 of the Children Act, 2013 – be instructed to audit the safety arrangements of every madrasa within their respective jurisdictions and publish the audit findings.
Moreover, the notice demands mandatory installation of CCTV cameras at entrance points, corridors, classrooms, and common residential areas in all madrasas. However, it explicitly and permanently prohibits camera placement in bathrooms, toilets, or any other private spaces.
It clarifies that the primary objective of installing CCTV cameras is to ensure institutional accountability, rather than monitoring the private lives of children.
