LAHORE: A teenage maid, who was allegedly tortured by her employer, was rescued by the Child Protection and Welfare Bureau (CPWB) from Muslim Town on Tuesday.

Palwasha, 14, was employed at the house of Imran Sheikh in Muslim Town for the last three years. The girl left the house when Mr Sheikh’s wife Arsalna allegedly tortured her for not cutting the vegetable properly.

In her statement, Palwasha alleged that her employers used to torture her often over minor mistakes.

On Monday night, she was busy cutting vegetables in the kitchen when Arsalna came there, took an iron rod and started thrashing her.

She said she had suffered bruises on her back, waist, hands and head. She left the house in the morning to go to her home in Sardarpura near Lahore airport.

As she did not know the address of her home and had no contact number of her father, Palwasha approached a resident of Muslim Town who alerted the CPWB. A team of the bureau took her to the Mayo Hospital for medical examination.

The girl was hired for Imran Sheikh’s house by a woman of the airport area and she did not know how much money her employers had given to her father, Amjad. She said her father was a labourer and was working with a kiln to transport bricks to the city.

CPWB spokesman Waseem Abbas said the girl was severely tortured.

CPWB Chairperson Saba Sadiq said a case would be registered against the couple on the complaint of the bureau which would also provide legal assistance to Palwasha. She said the bureau was trying to locate the family and home of the girl and she would be handed over to her family after completion of her treatment.

She said the CPWB and police raided the house to arrest the girl’s employers but it was found locked.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2017