Children banned from begging in Guinea-Bissau from Monday 

The Minister of Women, Family and Social Solidarity of Guinea-Bissau, Conceição Evora, announced this Monday that as of March 27, the order given by the head of state to end child begging in the country goes into effect.

The minister gave these indications in statements to journalists after a meeting promoted by the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Interior, Soares Sambu, with several Koranic masters (Koranic teachers) and Imams (Islamic religious leaders).

The purpose of the meeting was to convey the directives given by Guinean President Umaro Sissoco Embaló last Wednesday in the east of the country when he urged the interior minister to arrest the father, or Koranic master of any child caught begging in the streets of the country.

Sissoco Embaló considered shameful the act of sending children begging for alms in the streets of Bissau and neighboring countries under the allegation that they were collecting sustenance for their Koranic masters.

At the meeting held this Monday at the Ministry of Interior in Bissau, Minister Soares Sambu informed those present that the order of the head of state comes into force as of Monday, the 27th.

“We all concluded that it is not in Islam, it is not part of Islamic religious practices, to put children in begging, but we also agreed that we must take into account the President’s statement on this matter, and it is the second time he does it,” noted the Minister of Women, Family, and Social Solidarity.

Conceição Évora said that the Government “counts on the collaboration” of the Koranic masters but stressed that in case of resistance, “the authorities will use all mechanisms to enforce the order of the Head of State”.

The ruler refuted claims by some Koranic masters that most children in begging are orphans.

“A study funded by the International Organization for Migration shows that only 7% of children in begging are orphans,” Conceição Evora said, questioning how much time these children have to learn the Koran “if they spend a large part of the day in begging.”

The spokesman for the National Union of Imams of Guinea-Bissau, Bacar Candé, told journalists that the authorities’ measure would be complied with and that in the coming hours, the various associations of the Islamic community will publish communiqués advising Koranic masters to take the children off the country’s streets.

“The President’s words are an order, and all that remains is to fulfill them,” Bacar Candé declared.

With information from Lusa

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error