The gruesome murder and rape of a seven-year-old girl in Dhaka’s Mirpur area has triggered widespread public outrage and among those protesting was Hefazat-e-Islam, a powerful Qawmi madrasa-based organisation.
However, the group’s selective outrage quickly drew scrutiny. Just a day after the Mirpur incident, police recovered the body of a 10-year-old boy from a Qawmi madrasa in Dhaka’s Banasree area. While authorities confirmed that this second victim also bore signs of rape, Hefazat remained publicly silent.
Allegations of sexual abuse involving both boys and girls in Qawmi madrasas are no longer a hidden secret. Amid growing public concern, a few reform-minded scholars from within the Qawmi stream have begun speaking out.
Yet, the regulatory bodies overseeing these institutions remain largely silent unless cornered by journalists. Even then, their responses attempt to deflect blame or evade accountability.
When asked why Hefazat protested the Mirpur killing but ignored the Banasree tragedy, Mahfuzul Haque, Hefazat’s nayeb-e-ameer and secretary general of Befaqul Madarisil Arabia (Befaq), a regulatory body of Qawmi madrasas, told TIMES of Bangladesh, “Look, whenever an incident occurs, someone is portrayed as a criminal. However, first we have to find out who committed the crime. Then we have to take punitive action.”
The contrast in urgency is stark. On 23 May, four days after the Mirpur murder, Hefazat Ameer Shah Muhibbullah Babunagari and Secretary General Shaykh Sajidur Rahman issued a fiery joint statement.
They warned that “the series of incidents of torture, rape, and murder of women and children in recent times has deeply worried and terrified the nation,” and demanded exemplary punishment to prevent a further rise in crime.
The statement made absolutely no mention of the Banasree child’s death.
Defending the delay, Mahfuzul Haque stated that both Hefazat and Befaq were still investigating the Banasree case internally. “The deceased is a student of the madrasa, and the accused is a former student. Once all the information is gathered, a statement will be made,” he said.
Scholar calls for urgent reforms
Breaking the silence within the Qawmi stream, Ruhul Amin Sadi, principal of Atharul Ulum Adinabad Madrasa in Sylhet’s Beanibazar, has openly addressed the allegations.
He warned that there is no longer any room for complacency or silence regarding sexual abuse in Qawmi madrasas.
“The entire madrasa education system cannot be tarnished due to the lack of goodwill and incompetence of an immature director,” Sadi urged, calling for immediate institutional accountability.
In a written statement sent to TIMES, Sadi outlined a comprehensive 10-point proposal aimed at overhauling discipline and security in residential Qawmi institutions.
To beef up campus safety, he recommended installing CCTV cameras across premises and introducing anonymous complaint boxes to protect victims’ identities.
He also called for mandatory parent-teacher meetings every three months, safety programmes every three to six months, and regular moral-guidance sessions led by senior scholars to prevent lapses among students.
For educators, Sadi proposed weekly self-assessment and training programmes.
Beyond campus safety, Sadi’s reforms targeted the systemic administration of the Qawmi board, Befaq.
He advocated for labour reforms, including a fixed salary structure to guarantee proper wages and sufficient leave for teachers.
To tighten oversight, he demanded stricter controls on unauthorised establishments, mandatory registration for all madrasas, and a centralised registry for teachers that includes a blacklist for anyone found guilty of sexual harassment.
Sadi also noted that guardians and local communities must stay actively involved, advising parents to monitor their children’s mental health during holidays rather than treating madrasas as a drop-off responsibility.
Sadi placed his heaviest emphasis on strict legal action, explicitly rejecting the traditional practice of settling disputes internally to save face.
He argued that if rape or any criminal offense occurs inside a madrasa, it must never be covered up in the name of institutional honour or compromised through local arbitration. Instead, he insisted that culprits be handed directly over to state law enforcement, emphasizing that religious attire and status should never shield anyone from justice.
“Whoever the culprit is, no one can be spared on the basis of a beard, cap, or reputation as a scholar,” Sadi stated. “According to Islam, piety must coexist with the fear of punishment. The scholar community should be the first to speak out, so that the dignity of the entire education system is not tarnished by one sinful person.”
According to Sadi, implementing these vital reforms requires very little financial investment, relying instead on political goodwill, efficiency, and strict administrative oversight.
Questions over accountability
When asked what steps Befaq takes when allegations surface, Mahfuzul Haque claimed the organisation had formed a dedicated cell to investigate rape allegations, including a specific committee for the Banasree incident. However, this claim was directly contradicted by the Alokita Quran International Hifz Madrasa’s director and chairman, Abdullah Al Mamun, who told TIMES, “No, no investigation committee has come to us.”
The ambiguity deepened when Haque was questioned about Befaq’s historical disciplinary record.
Asked whether the board had ever taken punitive action against a non-compliant madrasa, Mahfuzul Haque responded defensively, “We have cancelled registration of a significant number of madrasas.”
Yet, when pressed for specific figures, he evaded the question, stating only that it had happened “from time to time” and that the exact number “cannot be stated.”
When asked to name even a single madrasa that had faced disciplinary action, he replied, “It cannot be said without seeing the documents.”
This lack of transparency contrasts sharply with the scale of the crisis documented by human rights monitors.
According to data analysed by Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), at least 211 incidents of rape or sexual assault in madrasas were reported in the media between 2020 and 2025.
Rights activists warn that the actual figure is likely far higher, as a vast majority of cases are hushed up and settled locally through informal arbitration without ever reaching law enforcement or the media.
