Because she stole chocolate: 13-year-old girl tortured and killed by couple
Rawalpindi (Pakistan) - Little Iqra (†13) just wanted to snack on something sweet during her hard day's work as a domestic helper for a couple and took a piece of chocolate. But when the owners of the house noticed this, they tortured the girl to death.
According to a BBC report, little Iqra was admitted to a hospital in the city of Rawalpindi in north-eastern Pakistan last week with serious injuries.
In an interview with the BBC, Iqra's father, Sana Ullah, said that he received a call from the police last Wednesday informing him that his daughter had been taken to hospital. Sana set off immediately. When he arrived at the hospital, he saw Iqra lying unconscious in one of the beds, a few minutes later she died as a result of her serious injuries.
According to initial investigations by the police, Iqra was not the victim of an accident, but of torture - by the family who had employed her as a housemaid.
After the arrest of the family who had tortured her, they testified that they had caught Iqra stealing chocolate from the house. The couple took this as an opportunity to brutally punish the 13-year-old.
An activist expresses his condolences on X (formerly Twitter)
Iqra's case sparks discussion on social media
The case has made big waves on many social networks . For example, the hashtag #JusticeforIqra ("Justice for Iqra") was launched on X, which addresses the problem of child labor and mistreatment of domestic helpers.
Iqra's father sent her out to work at the age of eight because he himself was in debt. Iqra has always worked as a maid for various families. According to the BBC report, she was paid just 23 pounds (equivalent to 27.76 euros) a month for her work!
Despite the ban on child labor in some regions of Pakistan, many children are still forced to work.