Pakistan couple arrested for allegedly murdering 7-year-old maid

Hassan Siddiqui and his wife employed Zohra Bibi at their home to care for their son of the same age.

Pakistani police rawalpindi
The girl was taken to hospital by the couple on Sunday, but she died the following day with the hospital staff reporting the incident to the police [File: BK Bangash/AP]

A Pakistani couple have been arrested for allegedly murdering their seven-year-old maid after she was blamed for letting a pet bird escape, police said, the latest case of violence against child domestic workers in the country.

Hassan Siddiqui and his wife employed Zohra Bibi at their home in a middle-class suburb of Rawalpindi, near the capital, Islamabad, to care for their son of the same age.

“The poor girl was subjected to torture by Siddiqui and his wife who accused her of freeing one of the four pet Macao parrots,” investigating officer Mukhtar Ahmad told AFP news agency on Thursday.

“Siddiqui kicked her in the lower abdomen which proved fatal.”

Some 8.5 million people – including many children – are employed as domestic workers in Pakistan, according to the International Labour Organization.

Theoretically, it is illegal to employ anyone below the age of 15, but it remains a common practice.

Bibi was taken to hospital by the couple on Sunday, but she died the following day. The incident was reported to the police by staff at the hospital.

The young girl’s body was handed over to her parents, who live in Muzaffargarh, near the city of Multan, more than 500km (300 miles) away from where she was working.

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Shireen Mazari, federal human rights minister, confirmed the arrests in a tweet and said the ministry was in touch with police.

“Violence and physical torture against children will not be tolerated and all those involved in such incidents will be dealt with,” city police chief Muhammad Ahsan Younus added.

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

Children are particularly vulnerable, and Bibi’s case is the latest in a growing number of incidents involving minors.

In December 2018, the rising number of abuse cases led the provincial legislature in Punjab to set regulations for the employment of domestic workers, which theoretically grants them rights such as sick leave and holidays.

Source: AFP