China tightens curbs on Tibetan religious life, bars children under 18 from monasteries

Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], February 7 (ANI): The Chinese authorities have reportedly stepped up curbs on Tibetan religious practices by strictly enforcing a ban that bars children below the age of 18 from entering monasteries, according to a report by Phayul.
The issue surfaced after a video circulated on the social media platform WeChat, reviving concerns over infringements on Tibetan religious and cultural freedoms.
Notices stating "Children under 18 are not allowed in the monastery" were reportedly posted at the monastery entrance in Kham, indicating stricter enforcement of long-standing regulations restricting minors' involvement in religious life, according to Phayul.
The enforcement coincides with the winter vacation period, which runs from January through the end of February 2026, when schools across Tibetan regions close for their annual holidays. Traditionally, many Tibetan children accompany their parents on pilgrimage visits during this time.
However, Chinese officials have reportedly intensified enforcement of the ban during the holiday season, preventing children from entering monasteries even when accompanied by family members.
Sonam Tobgyal, a researcher with Tibet Watch, said these actions form part of a wider, systematic campaign to weaken the transmission of Tibetan culture. "Over recent years, a range of Chinese policies in Tibet - including compulsory pre-nursery boarding schools for Tibetan children, restrictions on Tibetan language teaching in monasteries during holidays, and prohibitions on children visiting monasteries during winter breaks - indicate a calculated effort to deprive children of cultural nurturing during their most formative years," he said.
"Taken together, these measures amount to a colonial project intended to erase Tibetan cultural imprints from the daily lives of young Tibetans," as noted in the Phayul report.
Unlike regular schools elsewhere in China, state-run schools for Tibetan children operate under an additional administrative framework overseen by the Chinese Communist Party's United Front Work Department, which manages ethnic minorities and religious communities. This department closely supervises Tibetan students, subjects them to ideological conditioning, and promotes policies of forced linguistic and cultural assimilation.
Through this system, Tibetan children are encouraged or pressured to give up their native language and cultural perspective in favour of the Chinese language, identity, and political allegiance. Critics argue that the aim is not genuine education but transformation - to mould Tibetan children into citizens who speak, think, and identify solely as Chinese, as highlighted by the Phayul report.
According to the Phayul report, concern is growing over the long-term impact of these policies. Parents report that when children return home during winter and summer holidays, they increasingly communicate with each other in Chinese, respond to questions in Chinese, and express fear or reluctance to enter monasteries. Rights groups warn that these shifts reflect not only the erosion of language but also a deepening estrangement from Tibetan religious and cultural life. (ANI)