Lawyer is held over death of Christian girl
By David V Barrett

5 February 2010

Christians and civil rights groups in Pakistan have united in condemnation of the alleged rape, torture and murder of a 12-year-old Christian girl by her employer, a senior lawyer.

Shazia Bashir's funeral last week in the Catholic cathedral in Lahore was attended by thousands, including bishops and clergy of several denominations.

Shazia died on January 22 after being taken to hospital in Lahore by Chaudry Mohammad Naeem, for whom she had been working as a maidservant. Mr Naeem, a former president of the Lahore Bar Association and an advocate in Pakistan's Supreme Court, claimed she had fallen downstairs, but a post-mortem examination revealed injuries suggesting torture.

Shazia had worked for Mr Naeem for eight months. One neighbour told Sharing Life Ministry Pakistan: "She was not given proper food. Shazia had to beg for a single loaf of bread. She had been treated as an animal. Even in the cold weather, she was not wearing warm clothes."

Another said: " Once I saw that she was eating a little piece of sugar cane lying on the floor. Mrs Naeem called her; she threw that on the floor again and got frightened. After some time I heard the voices, screaming and shouting as someone is beating a child."

Shazia's alleged treatment is not an isolated occurrence. Neville Kyrke-Smith, national director of Aid to the Church in Need (UK), said: "As in so many parts of the world, Christians are degraded, abused or suffer appallingly for being seen as outsiders, the lowest of the low or associated with the West," "They feel unprotected - and such a terrible case shows the need for our solidarity in faith and action."

Shazia was working to help support her family, earning just 1,000 rupees a month (£7). Her parents and four siblings lived in a single small room. Her father, a sweeper, and her mother, a domestic worker, earned only about £37 a month between them.

Shazia's mother, Nasreen Bibi, met a man named Amanat Ali who hired children from poor parents to work for well-off families. Children working as servants is commonplace in Pakistan, in violation of child labour laws. Because of the family's poverty she asked him to find work for Shazia, and the girl was placed with Chaudry Mohammad Naeem. In the eight months Shazia worked for Mr Naeem her mother was reportedly not allowed to visit her, and did not receive her daughter's salary.

After Shazia's death her parents say that Mr Naeem offered them 20,000 rupees to keep quiet and not take any legal action. It is claimed that he said: "If you shout nobody will listen and they will never get anything." He is also alleged to have said: "I am a lawyer and will see that you cannot pursue this case because the court and the lawyer community is with me."

Shazia's parents were helped in persuading the initially reluctant police to take action against Mr Naeem by CLAAS, the Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement, which works for persecuted Christians in Pakistan.

Nasir Saeed, head of CLAAS in Britain, said: "Domestic servants are often subject to brutal violence and the government at the provincial and federal level is failing to put a stop to it. The government must enforce the child labour laws across Pakistan and prosecute those who continue to employ children and abuse them."

He added: "The exploitation of children is directly related to the widespread poverty and unemployment blighting Pakistan, and the failure of the government to provide free education to children. Unless the government takes concrete steps to bring in universal education, there will be many more Shazias."

Mr Naeem was arrested two days after Shazia's death.