Nadia Jamil slams judicial system as Rizwana awaits justice in torture case

Actor and philanthropist Nadia Jamil condemned the justice system in Pakistan, highlighting how it fails vulnerable people when perpetrators go unpunished. She shared the disturbing story of Rizwana, a teenage housemaid who suffered severe physical abuse at the hands of her employers.

The 14-year-old domestic worker was severely beaten by the spouse of a civil judge in Islamabad. Rizwana’s parents filed a complaint at a nearby police station. A District and Sessions Court in Islamabad approved bail in September, last year, for the civil judge's wife.

Taking to ‘X’, Nadia Jamil explained the trauma inflicted on Rizwana, who is still coping with the aftermath of severe abuse.

She wrote, “Rizwana is a normal 14 year old. She loves to dress up, play with dolls, laugh, look pretty. But she was sent into labour and beaten and tortured. Her limbs were broken, her head was smashed till the bone poked into her brain. She was forced to drink toilet cleaner and has burn marks all over her body from the acid burns and iron burns. Her teeth were smashed. She was left to rot in an empty house while the perpetrators went on holiday. When they returned she could barely breathe and her wounds had caught maggots. Especially on her head. Months and months of surgeries, hair removal, hair still not growing over the raw skin of her head wounds, skin grafting and she is still in hospital.”

Rizwana is a normal 14 year old. She loves to dress up, play with dolls, laugh, look pretty.

But she was sent into labour and beaten and tortured. Her limbs were broken, her head was smashed till the bone poked into her brain. She was forced to drink toilet cleaner and has burn… pic.twitter.com/5UgGTIXUh0

— Nadia Jamil (@NJLahori) February 15, 2024

Nadia called for an end to the practice of employing underage children as domestic staff.

"We expose poor children to self entitled monsters as a solution to poverty. These children are a source of income for parents who often have nine, ten of them, to make them work. They are trafficked by middle men as the cheapest, most vulnerable form of slave labour."

The 'Behadd' actor argued that simply being kind to the weaker and vulnerable is not enough. For someone truly committed to making a difference, supporting an underprivileged family's access to education would be a more impactful action.

"Those who speak kindly to these child slaves feel they are good people. Whereas it would be kinder to support the family and send the child to school to grow up, have a future and break the cycle of child trafficking and poverty. It would be kinder to make sure the constitution is followed and they are in full-time education by five. In the UK if a poor woman put her minor child to slave labour she would be arrested," she noted. 

Nadia furthred on, "It is not the responsibility of children to raise the economic status of their families. It is ours, the states, their parents and the adults of our country's responsibility."

Questioning the flaws in the justice system that enable wrongdoers to escape consequences, the 'Jo Bichar Gaye' actor said, "The woman who smashed up and tortured Rizwana is a mother of two and a school teacher. She is free on bail. Her husband, a civil judge, reflects the joke of our own systems, as he slapped Rizwana many times and witnessed this brutality. He has been given a promotion recently. This is the farce of justice and progress in our country."

Nadia advocated for societal change, urging people to raise voices for justice in Rizwana’s case and to combat child trafficking. She demanded a robust child protection system in Pakistan.

She concluded by saying, "Rizwana is like my daughter. But how many Rizwana’s have no voice? And how many #FatimaFariros will die raped and abused on cctv infront of a zombie nation and never get justice? Till when?"