Mahira Khan

Mahira Khan spoke against child domestic labour

1 min read

Mahira Khan has raised her voice for all victims of child labour — calling the practice illegal, wrong and unethical.

In a video shared by fellow actor Nadia Jamil on Twitter, Khan made an appeal to people to stop encouraging child labour and to raise their voices against the abuse of child labourers. Her plea comes after the brutal torture of a teenage girl named Rizwana who worked as a maid in Islamabad. Somia Asim, the wife of a civil judge, has been arrested but the fight against child labour and the abuse of children employed in households continues.

“For god’s sake, for these children’s sake and for the sake of the country, understand this and stop it,” she said. However, her plea was not to the parents of these children. “My message is not for the parents who are forced to send their children to work out of necessity. No parent would want their children to be working at an age when they should be playing and going to school,” said the actor.

“The strange thing is that the Rizwana incident, the houses [these kinds of incidents] happen in, those houses are usually of the very educated and powerful. Why? Maybe because they know they will get bail easily, there’s no accountability for them,” she lamented.

“So this appeal of mine is to people like me and you, to people like us, people who are in positions of power, who have platforms who have voices, who are lucky enough that we don’t have to send our children to beg and plead, nor do we have to send our children to places and houses that are unknown to us, where God forbid, our children are abused or tortured.

“My appeal is for all of us to speak out, for lawmakers to provide enough so that these children don’t have to go and work and, of course most importantly, when there are cases like Rizwana’s, there must be accountability.”

Acknowledgement/ Reference: Daily Dawn, 9 August 2023

the issue of malnutrition in Pakistan
Previous Story

The Crises of Malnutrition in Pakistan

child domestic worker
Next Story

Child Domestic Labor as Modern-Day Slavery

Latest from Blog

Child Labor In Brick Kilns

Forced child labor is a complex issue that affects millions of children worldwide, including in Pakistan. It is a violation of children’s rights and a serious obstacle to their development, education, and future prospects. Poverty, lack of education, and debt bondage force children to work in brick kilns, often in…

Boy Found Strangled In Religious Seminary In Gadap Town

A minor boy was found dead in a religious seminary in Gadap City’s Jameel Colony near the Super Highway on 14-May-2025. The Gadap City police said that the victim’s family had alleged that he was sexually assaulted before being murdered. According to a Karachi Police spokesperson, the body was recovered…

Balochistan To Digitise Birth And Death Registration

QUETTA: Balochistan government has decided to integrate Bolan Medical Complex and Sandeman Provincial Hospital with the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) for registration of birth and death certificates, Local Government and Rural Development Secretary Abdul Rauf Baloch said on 13th May. Mr Baloch called the initiative a significant move…

5 Children Injured In Firing On School Van In Battagram

BATTAGRAM: Five children were injured when a masked gunman opened fire on a school van traveling from the suburban area of Peerhai to Battagram on 13-May-2025 morning. Police officials said the injured were initially provided first aid and later shifted to Ayub Medical Complex in Abbottabad for advanced treatment. They…
Go toTop

Don't Miss

Minor girl tortured to death by her employer, his sisters

A minor girl employed as a domestic help had allegedly

Criminalizing Child Domestic Labour in Pakistan

Human rights, child rights and civil society activists, along with