A legal notice has been sent to the government seeking immediate, effective, preventive and structural measures to prevent ongoing sexual abuse, rape, buggery and cruel treatment of children at various madrasas across the country.
The notice was sent to the secretaries of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Law and Ministry of Religious Affairs.
Supreme Court lawyer Muhammad Nurul Huda sent the notice on Monday.
The notice called for the formulation, establishment and implementation of a national Child Sexual Abuse Prevention and Protection Cell applicable uniformly to all types of madrasas across the country, including Alia, Qawmi and Hifz madrasas.
Following the model directed in the BNW case, it also called for establishing Child Sexual Abuse Prevention and Protection Committees at every madrasa and religious educational institution to receive allegations of child sexual abuse at madrasas and other residential religious educational institutions and take necessary measures.
The notice also called for the National, District and Upazila Child Welfare Boards, formed under Sections 7 to 9 of the Children Act, 2013, to immediately conduct an audit of the protection systems of every madrasa under their respective jurisdictions and publish the findings.
It further sought mandatory installation of CCTV cameras at the entrances, corridors, classrooms and common residential areas of every madrasa.
However, the notice said cameras should be explicitly and permanently prohibited in bathrooms, toilets and any other private areas, with the aim of ensuring institutional accountability while protecting children's private lives from surveillance.
The notice urged that the authorities take steps on the matter within five days. It also warned that a writ petition would be filed if the requested measures were not taken.