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Kolkata: In her opinion madrasas should not exist, exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen said on Sunday, alleging that some of these educational institutions were producing “jihadis” and witnessing cases of child abuse.

“In my opinion, madrasas should not exist… not in all cases, but in some it is seen that jihadis are being produced in madrasas,” she told reporters in Kolkata.

“Child abuse is going on there, rapes are happening… imams and madrasa teachers are being held,” Taslima further said, as reported by Hindustan Times.

Punishment alone was not enough, she said and called for changes to the education system.

“They are going to jail, but just punishment won’t help… this education system needs a transformation… I don’t think there is a need for madrasas… no one does anything after passing out of madrasas… they beg, survive on charity… madrasas should go, and secular schools should come up instead,” she said.

“A lot of masjids have turned out to become jihad-producing factories,” she said while adding: “Not saying all, but some.”

“If some money is made/collected, a masjid is built. So many masjids are not needed; the government should control this,” Taslima added.

She did not cite any specific instances or evidence to support her claims though.

The author and activist returned to Kolkata on Friday after 19 years, describing the visit as an emotional homecoming to a city she still considers her own.

Taslima had told PTI that returning to Kolkata felt like coming back to “my own country”, before her visit.

“I feel as though I am returning to my own country. Bengal has never been divided in my heart by a border or a barbed-wire fence. The door to the eastern part of Bengal remains closed to me, so for now, this part of Bengal is my home,” she said.

Taslima had said she was returning “with joy, but also with pain”, recalling that Kolkata had given her a home, friends, readers and a sense of belonging before she was forced to leave.

She fled Bangladesh in 1994 following death threats over her novel Lajja and settled in Kolkata in 2004, describing the city as her cultural refuge in exile.

In 2007, she was forced to flee Kolkata after fundamentalists came out on the streets, causing vandalism and arson. The Army had to be called in the quell the violence.