“I want the perpetrator to be punished severely,” Qoumas noted in a written statement received here, Friday.
Earlier, an owner and teacher of an Islamic boarding school in South OKU, Moh. Syukur, was arrested by the police for allegedly raping his student and making her pregnant.
The perpetrator raped the victim in April 2021. The incident was revealed by reports from residents around the Islamic boarding school, who became suspicious of the victim's condition.
The victim gave birth on December 21, 2021, inside the school’s toilet. The police then arrested Syukur on Monday, December 27, 2021.
Qoumas affirmed that his side had taken strategic steps to address the problem. Apart from closing the Islamic boarding school and stopping learning activities, the Ministry of Religious Affairs had also sent all the students home.
“The Ministry of Religious Affairs will help them to get enrolled in other schools and continue their studies. The ministry is synergizing with madrasa schools (Islamic schools) under the Directorate General of Islamic Education at the Ministry of Religious Affairs,” he asserted.
Qoumas emphasized that his ministry supports victims of sexual violence. The Ministry of Religious Affairs will provide protection to all parties reporting sexual violence cases occurring in religious educational institutions.
"The Ministry of Religious Affairs declares a war on the perpetrators of sexual violence and will cooperate with law enforcement officials to pursue and reform sexual predators in religious educational institutions," he remarked.
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Translator: Asep Firmansyah, Raka Adji
Editor: Sri Haryati
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