PHOTO: EXPRESS
“The owner of the house Rana Awais and his wife Sonia abused me but somehow, managed to escape from their detention,” the minor girl said while narrating her ordeal. After her recovery, a medico legal examination was conducted that revealed she had sustained severe injuries on her entire body. Police informed the Child Protection and Welfare Bureau (CPWB) and handed over the affected girl to them. CPWB Officer Robina Iqbal said the police have registered a case on the complaint of the child under Section 34-2004 of the Punjab Destitute and Neglected Children Act. “The accused who were involved in the detention of the child maid and alleged physical assault will be challenged in the court of law,” she said.
Samanabad police said samples and evidence have been collected for forensic tests and raids were being carried out to arrest the accused.
This is not the first case of abuse of child maids at the hands of house owners. Every other day, a more tragic case emerges and incidents of child abuse of domestic help seem to have no respite. In May 2019, a 10-year-old victim of severe domestic abuse was recovered by the CWPB. The minor victim named Hadia Aslam was sent to work as a maid by her mother at the house of accused Zarqa Shahid in Halloki, Lahore. The accused would beat her so brutally that the victim’s screams could be heard by neighbours.
There have been cases of child maid abuse in which the victims also lost lives after being assaulted.
On Saturday, a minor girl was allegedly assaulted by her brother and brother-in-law in Badami Bagh. The suspects identified as Ali Hassan and Pervaiz intoxicated the victim with sleeping pills. When the victim fell unconscious, they assaulted her. Medico-legal examination of the victim confirmed the assault. In Lahore, a 10-year-old victim in Akbari Gate area lost his life after the daughter of a PML-N MPA physically assaulted him for being late while carrying utensils.
Last year, a serial killer named Imran Ali was arrested from Kasur for the murder of at least 11 victims during a span of two years. A few years ago, the body of a minor boy was recovered from a mosque in Green Town. The victim was murdered after physical assault by a teenager who happened to be his neighbour and worked as a barber. Later on, the accused was killed in an encounter on his way to a court hearing.
The gravity of the issue can be gauged from the data compiled by a non-governmental organisation, Sahil, which showed that more than 10 children were abused daily during 2018. A total number of 3,832 cases have been reported during the same year. These cases have increased by more than 11% as compared to the figure of 3,445 recorded in the year 2017.
The successive governments of the past decades have failed to dig out a way to deal with acts of violence against children. The response is limited to police action in arresting the suspects after the incident, photo shoots and statements to the media even after two major cases of child abuse: the Kasur child pornography scandal and Zainab murder case drew international attention and condemnation.
Two killed in fire accidents
Two people were killed while three others sustained injuries in different fire incidents in and around the city. Police officials said on Sunday 40-year-old Shehzad Ghafoor was killed while his three co-workers Amanat Ali, Waheed and Irfan Hussain suffered burn injuries following a fire broke out after a boiler blast in Arshad Textile Mills in Khurarianwala. The victims were shifted to a hospital for treatment.
In another fire incident, 33-year-old Muhammad Younus suffered burn injuries and he succumbed to his injuries a day before Eidul Fitr at Allied Hospital. Separately, 23-year-old Azhar, 7-year-old Fizza and six-year-old Laiba were hospitalised after they suffered burn injuries in separate fire incidents.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 10th, 2019.
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