Killing of Zohra Shah


Zohra Shah was an eight-year-old Pakistani domestic slave of a married couple, Hassan Siddiqui and Umme Kulsoom. She was tortured and killed for mistakenly releasing her masters' parrots in Bahria Town, Rawalpindi on 1 June 2020. Her death caused an outcry in Pakistan and led to legislative changes which outlawed child domestic labour in the country.

Early life

She was from Basti Maso Shah in Muzaffargarh District of southern Punjab approximately from the capital, Islamabad.

Murder

Allegedly, she was murdered for releasing valuable parrots from their cages. Evidence such as 'older scars and marks' suggest Shah had been repeatedly abused while working for Siddiqui and Kulsoom, and 'wounds on her thighs' were 'consistent with sexual assault'.

Aftermath

Siddiqui and Kulsoom were arrested and put on judicial remand.