or several days, Rizwana, a 15-year-old from a poor family, who had been a house maid for a civil judge in Islamabad and was allegedly subjected to torture by his wife, is struggling for her life at an intensive care unit of a public hospital in Lahore.

Medical reports have documented at least 15 injuries, including fractured bones and marks suggesting attempted strangulation.

The News on Sunday has learnt that Rizwana has been working as an all-day maid at Rs 10,000 per month at judge Asim Hafeez’s house for several months, far away from her home in Sargodha district.

Many families in the capital city employ underage girls for domestic work and for taking care of their children. Many poverty-stricken families readily agree to harsh conditions and see their meagre wage as good money.

“On July 24 we went to see our daughter. She was unwell and looked tortured,” says Manga Khan, the girl’s father. He accuses the judge’s wife of torturing his daughter.

Talking to the media, Judge Asim Hafeez has denied torturing or beating the girl while she was employed at his house. He has also said she had left his house for her hometown two weeks earlier and was in good health at the time. He regrets the media trial, which he says has been very hard on his family.

The Islamabad police have registered a complaint against his wife for the alleged torture. The judge and his wife had briefly gone into hiding until she applied for and got a protective bail from the high court. The police investigations are under way.

While the initial report had accused the judge’s wife of cruelty to the child maid, an attempted murder allegation has been added to it since then. Rizwana’s family says they found that there were injuries to her head besides wounds all over her face, arms and legs, the FIR says. A tooth was also found broken and there was swelling on both lips and eyes, the FIR reads.

According to a senior investigator, the police have established that the girl was at the judge’s house till July 23. However, the judge and his wife have yet to make a statement to the police and to join the investigation. A video clip, viral on social media, has shown the main suspect coming out of a court, her face covered with a chador and some lawyers asking the media to make way.

In an apparently similar case in 2016, an additional district judge, Raja Khurram Ali, and his wife were found guilty of torture of their child maid Tayyaba, then 10 years old, and sentenced to a year in prison. A neighbour had called the police to report domestic violence involving a girl child in the house.

Under labour laws, the minimum age for employment is 14 years, with some exceptions for children working in family businesses or in the entertainment industry.

Sadly, videos and images of the latest juvenile victim suggest that not much has changed in more than five years after the well-publicised case.

The pictures of the girl show gashes on her head and a swollen and bruised face as well as wounds on her arms and legs. Caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi has reportedly inquired after the girl. He is also reported to have assured the victim’s family that their complaint will investigated fairly and that be justice will be done.

Many cases of torture of domestic help have come to light in the recent years. In some cases, the families of the victims have settled out of court.

Article 37(a) of the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), ratified by Pakistan, says, “no child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

Under the labour laws, the minimum age for employment is 14 years, with some exceptions for children working in family businesses or in the entertainment industry. Children between the ages of 14 and 18 are allowed to work in non-hazardous jobs for a limited number of hours a day.

The Employment of Children Act, 1991, prohibits the employment of children under the age of 14 in any occupation. However, this law does not apply to children in domestic work. The Punjab Restriction on Employment of Children Act, 2016, prohibits the employment of children under the age of 15 in hazardous work, including domestic work.

A lack of political will to enforce these laws in letter and spirit is evident. There is no reliable mechanism to check child labour and there is little regulation.

Child domestic workers, particularly girls, often come from marginalised communities. They are not enrolled at schools and are denied education, healthcare and other basic rights. Most of them work for long hours and meagre wages and are often reported in vulnerable physical and emotional health. In some cases sexual abuse and exploitation are also reported.

The National Commission on the Rights of Child has been calling for criminalizing child domestic labour. Ayesha Raza Farooq, the NCRC chairperson, visited the hospital in Lahore where Rizwana is being treated and promised justice. The commission also had a role in the registration of a complaint against her employer. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has also taken notice of the case and issued directions for a thorough probe into the incident.

The writer is a staff member. He can be reached at vaqargillani@gmail.com