Amnesty calls on Senegal to address abuse in Islamic schools

Poor children have long been consigned to Koranic schools, known as daaras, for their education in the Muslim-majority country where religious leaders exert significant social and political power. Tens of thousands of pupils, or “talibes,” “are compelled to beg” as part of a scheme to bring teachers revenue, according to a report by Amnesty International. Additionally, they experience health issues like undernourishment, skin ailments, and frequent “big abscesses in their mouths” as a result of poor hygiene and neglect.

The rights organization claimed in the study that the pupils also “experience maltreatment from some Koranic professors and their aides.”

In order to keep runaways from escaping, teachers told Amnesty that “shackling is a widespread practice.” In the Lansar neighborhood of Touba’s capital city, a 10-year-old pupil was struck by his teacher and later died from his wounds. He had not completed the day’s lesson. Although there aren’t any precise numbers, estimations indicate that there are more over 2,000 daaras and nearly 200,000 talibes.

According to Amnesty, “around 25% of people are thought to be compelled to beg,” citing a purported mapping project conducted by the NGO Global Solidarity Initiative in 2018. (GSI).Amnesty claimed that forced begging amounted to trafficking and involved teachers and pupils from Senegal as well as surrounding nations like Gambia and Guinea-Bissau.

In the Lansar neighborhood of Touba’s capital city, a 10-year-old pupil was struck by his teacher and later died from his wounds. He had not completed the day’s lesson. Although there aren’t any precise numbers, estimations indicate that there are more over 2,000 daaras and nearly 200,000 talibes.

According to Amnesty, “around 25% of people are thought to be compelled to beg,” citing a purported mapping project conducted by the NGO Global Solidarity Initiative in 2018. (GSI).Amnesty claimed that forced begging amounted to trafficking and involved teachers and pupils from Senegal as well as surrounding nations like Gambia and Guinea-Bissau.

Authorities have launched a number of operations in recent years to rescue kids from the streets, including students at schools.

Last month, Senegalese President Macky Sall met with prominent Koranic teachers, during which several called for the release of “dozens” of colleagues who had been imprisoned on charges of abusing students. Three years ago, seven people were detained for chaining truants in one example. Sall has pledged financial support for Koranic schools as well as more respect for Arabic-trained teachers.