Police charge Pakistan couple with murder of child maid over missing chocolate

A Pakistani flag flies on a lookout in Islamabad, Pakistan, on July 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File) (Rahmat Gul/AP)

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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- A Pakistani couple appeared in court on Thursday accused of murdering a child maid, who police said they beat with a rolling pin for allegedly stealing chocolate.

Thirteen-year-old Iqra, who had only one name, was taken to hospital in the garrison city of Rawalpindi on Tuesday in a critical condition and later died of severe injuries.

A spokesman for Rawalpindi police said Rashid Shafiq and his wife Sana, who also goes by one name, were charged with murder and remanded in custody for four days to allow for an investigation.

“Initially it was ascertained that the lady used a rolling pin for torture,” spokesman Sajjad ul Hassan told AFP.

“The victim had multiple fractures; legs, ankle, arms, head. All this happened due to a missing chocolate,” he said.

Child labour in domestic work remains widespread in Pakistan, according to an International Labour Organization report from 2022, with one in every four households employing a child in domestic work, predominantly girls aged 10-14.

It is illegal to employ individuals under the age of 15 but it remains a common practice, with impoverished parents often sending their young daughters to work.

Iqra’s father Sana Ullah, who lives in a rural Punjab village, told AFP that his daughter had been working with the couple for the past 22 months, during which they paid him 8,000 rupees (around US$28) a month.

“The beasts tortured my daughter in a way that no human could ever do,” he told AFP.

“I demand justice for this brutality.”

Domestic workers frequently face exploitation, violence and sexual abuse, with Pakistan’s patriarchal and rigid social-class structure leaving them without a voice.

In the past, parents frequently forgave the accused through out-of-court settlements under Islamic law, which allows the victim’s heirs to either seek retribution or accept compensation in the form of blood money.

Prosecutions for housemaid abuse are rare despite media attention on high-profile cases, with perpetrators facing few or no consequences.

In 2020, a couple in the same city was arrested for allegedly murdering their seven-year-old maid, who was blamed for letting a pet bird escape.

AFP