Madrassa children ‘severely’ tortured for plucking flowers
Four-year-old Aasia, five-year-old Aqsa and four-year-old Junaid were beaten with sticks and were forced to lie under the sun with three bricks placed over their chests and legs after their teacher, Qari Asghar, got to know that they had plucked flowers from the garden.
The children told The Express Tribune that they were beaten up after the bricks were placed on them.
“We were plucking flowers for our female teacher who teaches us in the morning. Qari Asghar had put his leg on my neck and then grabbed my hair and beat me up,” said Aasia.
The parents found their children nearly fainting after they were called to the madrassa by some member of the staff. They said that the children were bleeding due to the bricks.
Asghar ran away from the madrassa after the incident. However, SHO Gul Muhammad of Bara Meel Police Station said that he was arrested and will be prosecuted according to the law.
The parents took their children to the Kabirwala THQ Hospital, where Dr Saima, in the examination report, confirmed that the children were “severely tortured”.
The police, on the application of the parents, registered an FIR in 57/2012 under the sections 337 L2 and 357 L2 at the Bara Meel Police Station.
Irked by the incident, Aasia’s father Mukhtar Ahmed said that such a “brutal” person does not deserve to teach the Holy Quran.
COMMENTS (52)
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@kaalchakra: No body should beat up kids,whatever they are teaching them.
@Big Rizvi: And therein lies the problem. These savages think they have EVERY right to beat up children, and women, and gays, and infidels. And the list goes on and on and on.
How nice. More tolerance and compassion from the religion of peace...NOT!
These people are barbaric savages who live according to a violent political system cloaked in religion.
‘Without education it is complete darkness’ Quaid-e-Azam ‘Without education it is complete darkness and with education it is light. Education is a matter of life and death to our nation. The world is moving so fast that if you do not educate yourselves you will be not only completely left behind, but will be finished up. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) had enjoined his followers to go even to China in the pursuit of knowledge. If that was the commandment in those days when communications were difficult, then, truly, Muslims as the true followers of the glorious heritage of Islam, should surely utilize all available opportunities. No sacrifice of time or personal comfort should be regarded too great for the advancement of the cause of education’ Said Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinah . To what extend we have taken Quaid’s saying seriously? What we have done with education? Are we not in a complete darkness? Have we not left behind? Today, Pakistan is crippled by an education emergency that threatens tens of millions of children. Now our education system in state of emergency and this emergency has disastrous human, social and economic consequences, and threatens the security of the country. It is a state of shame that one in ten of the world’s out-of-school children is a Pakistani. That is the equivalent of the entire population of Lahore. There are 26 countries poorer than Pakistan but send more of their children to school. Only 35 per cent of school children, aged 6-16, can read a story, while 50 per cent cannot read a sentence. We don't need MAD-RASSAS to educate our kids,we need modern high tech institutions where parents can send their kids.
@kaalchakra: I'm sorry that I read your comment! The old days were wrong and only produces more violence and tyranni when these abused children grew-up to out-perform their abusers in general abuse of the society.
Nobody likes beating up little kids, but children have to be taught faith, unity, and discipline.
@Syed Owais Mukhtar: So your point is it's ok to continue torturing 5 year olds as long as you can prove that "they" are doing it as well. Are you trying to follow "them"?
Well! I tried to give an honest opinion for our system of education in both Regular school & Madrassas in the light of modern education methods and the psychological impact of harsh punishment goes-on in our countries. Anyway, for some reason it was not considered worthwhile by ET. to be posted.Still, I am proud of so many writers of above posts who really didn't make me feel like a looser. You all came out with best of inputs and I'm so happy that there are so many who know what is wrong with our system with good solutions. Hopefully it's heeded by the people who make decisions for the younger generation and their teachers' protocol.
@Z: thanks buddy, they should know their real face too, they are always busy in exposing the so-called-true-Islamic-face, but they should also know that the secular and liberal class is doing in colleges and universities http://syedowais.blogspot.com/
May the true Allah of the universe hold false pious religious leaders accountable for their evil crimes. All Madrassah should be closed.
@Z: A Kid gets beaten in madrassah. You rush to protect madrassah, we shout to protect the kids.
This is just another example of why religion has no place in society. Nothing good ever comes of religion. Keep religion out of government and our schools.
is picking flowers considered un-islamic now?
No wonder they want want to blow themselves up when the finally graduate!!
Feel sorry for you guys!
But also you can keep it!
You try to be human first - and religion and everything else - comes after!!
It's a more humble approach!
@Readme:agree with you, unfortunately religion gravitates towards poverty.
@Z: so you think beating five year old kids with sticks and putting bricks on their chest is good ?
@Z: this has nothing to do with secularism. i can quote you several cases where madrassah teachers have been caught sexually assaulting their students.
The religion of peace indeed!
Beating children is simply inhuman and without justification. It happens in both Madrassah’s and Schools, but is more prevalent in the latter as some of our ulema believe it is permissible to beat children by the age of 10 if they don’t say there prayers.
We should have proper legislation against corporal punishment and child abuse in homes and schools. I can assure you our religious fanatics will be up in arms if such a law is even debated, similar to their objections on the women protection/harassment bill.
What kind of islam will such teacher teach to the students???What a role model for such childern??childerns are not even asked to offer namaz by force or pitai untill they are under age 7....it is time to think that what tolrenace will these people teach to the students ....Are these madrasas teaching real islam???
@Z: whatever be the fault of secular and secularism point here is doing in the name of religion which is nothing but compassion. That teacher is also product of that madressa system which has taught him no value to human dignity.
but if sexual acts are the reason for sharing that link then countless such tales are about madressa people as well.
i think Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy (and whoever else wants) should win atleast 1 oscar EVERY YEAR with all the acid throwing, gang-raping, forced conversions, prevalent sexual abuse........this list can go on forever........
Return to native religions of south asia needed.
Religion = Cancer. Only solution = strict secularism like France or Turkey.
Remembering my own 2 hrs of daily madarasa
@Z: Is there any kid of your family going to MADRASSA or would u send ur kids to those MADRASSAS where they teach hate instead of real ISLAM spread by Holy Prophet(PBUH).ITS NOT THE ISSUE OF LIBERALS,ATHEISTS, CONSERVATIVES ETC,no ONE DENYING Islam or religion HERE,but lets face the fact that who are running MADRASSA in Pakistan?What they really teach in those MADRASSAS?
That's what happens when you handover your educational system to Saudi Mafia mullahs where ignorant mullahs teach and abuse sexually and physically these little kids.What do they teach em in MAD-RASSA,ARE THESE KIDS LEARNING ANYTHING ABOUT MODERN EDUCATION,can these kids become doctors,engineers,police officers etc after 15 years? Pakistan needs to spreads modern education aggressively.
Madrassahs - as indeed any educational institution - should have a screening system, so they don't end up taking in sick jerks (sadists like this guy).
Another topic for Shermeen Obaid Chinoy and a chance to win the oscar...?
Dont you ever think what happen in schools and colleges, why focus on madrasa ?
Flowers VS Children
(Floweristan wins!!!)
Please keep in mind the age of kids and their "CRIME" !
The teacher was a good man before learning the madrasa teaching course, which made him harsh, rigid and intolerant.
Really sad incident. But to be honest, it has nothing to do with religion. I remember being beaten up badly by teachers while going to a privileged school (not a madrassa). However, I have seen that madrassa kids always get the worst of this because of no regulation and helplessness on the part of parents from lower middle class. Eventually that shows up when they grow up because they take out their anger on the rest of the world. This vicious cycle has to stop.
WOW every news today on ET is to malign either Islam or Pakistan. what is the source of this atleast show some real pictures.
Liberal Scum
I don't think torturing students is just limited to Madrassas. We have seen such unacceptable instances in public and private schools too. Sadists are everywhere in our society. The only way to reduce such inhumanity is to give exemplary punishment to the perpetrators and legislate for a complete ban to beating students in schools and madrassas.
Religion + poverty. A bad mix.
@Z: What an awful compartmentalization of mind!! And what else is dichotomy?
@Z: You hit the nail right on the head! These people need to stop blaming this incident on religion. Many of us have been caught by school gardeners and punished for the same crime in our childhood. the need of the hour is the correction of our social ethics and elevation of our tolerance level, especially in case of children, women and the elderly.
Ashraf p said "The Joys of Religion" . the children have beten by a Teacher not by a Religion.so thats why z is not wrong.
These are not teachers but sadist illiterate Mullah's who take out their anger and frustrations on kids. This Qari should be similarly treated thrice.
@Shahbaz,
Do you think I am as heartless as you liberals are? Liberals in Pakistan, just like the self-proclaimed Godless creatures in the West, lack the much needed critical thinking in understanding ANY social problems and social ills. All they could do was to yell : evil religion is the problem without trying to weigh every other variable involved.
Corporal punishment is the de facto method of teaching students about discipline in many countries. From China to our next door neighbor, it had been and is championed and condemned as the method to teach discipline in young kids.
If one would have critical thinking, one could easily point out about the culture of corporal punishment throughout Pakistan, in and out of religious institutions, which led to this. Despite living in a Muslim country and should have been aware of the Prophet's love to children, one would have assumed liberals in Pakistan would have the mental and intellectual capacities to dissect this issue away from their brainwashed dictum: "religion causes all the problems in the world".
Tomorrow, if there's shooting in madrassa like in Osiko University, these liberals would repeat the same brainwashed dictum."Religion, religion, mullah, mullah" would be the rhyme they repeat like a nursery kid.
although they teach the children to learn the holy Quran, but they themselves have not applied its learning, very sad :(
We need a Mustafa Kamal Ataturk for this country, I don't approve of his policy, but being tortured in the name of secularism is way better then in the name of my religion. The only way to get genuine progressive Religious leadership thats not fanatic, is to do what Turkey did for the last 60 years.
Z: Perhaps you should show some sympathy for the poor children who were so brutally ill-treated instead of using this as an excuse to bash liberal thinking. Mistreating children is vile whether you're a conservative or a liberal. Try to use some critical thinking on yourself for a change, instead of foisting it upon others.
Who are they in charge? They have no right to beat up innocent children. Sadly, we have made these people the "thaykaydars" of Islam. Clearly, such a brutal act is nowhere to be justfied in the Quran.
@Z: Please just tell me what do you feel upon reading this incident ?
Victims of poverty
Guys like these have given a bad name to our madressah's.There needs to a serious reflection and reform of our madressah's in terms of disciplining children.
Wah ! The Joys of Religion !!