SENEGAL: Human Rights Watch releases a report calling for the end of abuse in Senegal's traditional Koranic school systems, where tens of thousands of students face beatings and are forced by their teachers to beg

Record ID: 174130

  • Title: SENEGAL: Human Rights Watch releases a report calling for the end of abuse in Senegal's traditional Koranic school systems, where tens of thousands of students face beatings and are forced by their teachers to beg
  • Date: 20th March 2014
  • Summary: DAKAR, SENEGAL (MARCH 19, 2014) (REUTERS) POSTER OUTSIDE OF NEWS CONFERENCE FOR RELEASE OF HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH REPORT VARIOUS OF MATTHEW WELLS, AFRICA RESEARCHER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH SEATED AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) AFRICA RESEARCHER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, MATTHEW WELLS, SAYING: "I think there has started to be some movement in the right direction. We have started to see some progress from the government, we've started to see religious authorities speak out against this form of abuse and exploitation and so there are some reasons to be encouraged. At the same time, the problem remains enormous, kids are...tens of thousands of kids are forced to beg on the streets each day, to bring back a set amount of money, brutally beaten if they fail to bring back the money, so it's an urgent problem and it demands a swift and strong response from the government."
  • Embargoed: 4th April 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Senegal
  • Country: Senegal
  • Topics: International Relations,Education,Politics,Religion,Education
  • Reuters ID: LVADBWRFLQ53VC2EWBS2AEPHPCOZ
  • Story Text: A year after a fire killed eight children when it ripped through a Koranic school in Senegal, the government has failed to prosecute those responsible and to halt the abuse of young boys in Islamic education, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday (March 18).
    In the wake of the fire in the Medina district of Dakar, President Macky Sall pledged to impose state regulation on the Koranic school system, which involves 30,000 boys in the Senegalese capital alone.
    Barefoot children in tattered clothes amble through the trash-strewn streets of Dakar, tapping on car windows for a few coins or a cup of rice.
    Many of them, known locally as Talibes -- a term used in Senegal for a boy who is forced to beg -- attend Koranic schools known as Daaras.
    Many of them live in cramped and squalid conditions and some are subjected to physical and even sexual abuse, rights groups say.
    Matt Wells, West Africa researcher for Human Rights Watch, said despite some progress made in tackling the issue, Sall's government stills lacks the political will to prosecute renegade Koranic teachers and to push through a draft law to regulate the schools.
    "I think there has started to be some movement in the right direction. We have started to see some progress from the government, we've started to see religious authorities speak out against this form of abuse and exploitation and so there are some reasons to be encouraged. At the same time, the problem remains enormous, kids are.. tens of thousands of kids are forced to beg on the streets each day, to bring back a set amount of money, brutally beaten if they fail to bring back the money, so it's an urgent problem and it demands a swift and strong response from the government," he said.
    Wells said that while thousands of teachers took good care of their children, a minority was taking advantage of the lack of government oversight to exploit their charges for profit.
    Human Rights Watch said that forced child begging in Dakar is an industry worth at least 5 million US dollars a year. Over half the boys spend up to 16 hours a day to bring in a minimum of 400 CFA francs ($0.85) each for their marabouts or teachers.
    "If we can't give these children the necessary education, then we must send them back home or put them in good koranic school. No one is ok with seeing these children spending their days on the streets, begging, barefoot and wearing dirty clothes. I ask Koranic school teachers to realize that they must ensure the good education of their students," said Islamic religious leader and Koranic school director, Mouhamadou Niass.
    Government officials said some progress had been made by Sall's government in sensitising families not to send their children away and in returning runaways to their relatives.
    The government is also completing a survey of daaras in Dakar to determine where abuse was taking place.
    If passed, the new law would oblige daaras to provide a good education and meet national health and safety standards.
    A 2005 statute already allows those responsible for the mistreatment of talibes to be jailed for up to two years. However, since last year's fire, only one case has been brought to trial, with the marabout being convicted to just one month in jail.
    Some Dakar based NGOs have claimed to have received allegations that young boys at one daara in the capital were being prostituted for as little as 2 US dollars a day, and call for swift prosecution of renegade teachers.
    "All these supposed Koranic teachers do not teach anything to these children, the government should arrest them, the government should apply the law in regards to this issue. Parents should stop sending their children to these alleged Koranic teachers. We the people must also stop giving money to these children when they beg for it," said women's rights activist, Seynabou Dieng.
    Human Rights Watch did not document any cases of prostitution but said sexual abuse by older boys took place.
    Wells said some officials feared a backlash from the religious community because the government had never before tried to regulate religious schools.
    However, he said the government needed to explain it was only targeting the minority of teachers preying on children.
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