Shazia Masih (May 20, 1997 – January 22, 2010) was a young girl from Pakistan's Christian community. Near her 12th birthday, she was hired to work as a house maid in the home of the former President of the Lahore Bar Association, Chaudhry Naeem. After eight months of employment in Naeem's home, she was found dead with marks of torture on her body.^[1]

Masih's case was brought into the limelight by the cruel and unusual circumstances of her death.^[2] The case initially garnered widespread media attention in Pakistan and around the world.^[3] Allegations of rape, torture and inhuman treatment were leveled against Naeem's family based on the original autopsy report. Naeem and his family were charged with the murder. However, they were acquitted at trial because the original autopsy report was not presented. Instead a different medical report was presented that said Shazia died of a skin disease. In addition, the police presented confusing and conflicting statements from witnesses at trial. The lack of justice for Shazia Masih highlighted the plight of Pakistan's Christian minority.^[4][5]

Background

Shazia Masih was born on May 20, 1997. Her parents were Akbar Masih and Nasreen Bibi. After her father died while she was young, her mother married her step-father, Bashir Masih, who was a sweeper. She lived in a rented room with her mother, step-father and five siblings in a slum in Samanabad, Lahore. Shazia was the third child.^[5]

Due to abject poverty, her mother agreed for Shazia to work as a maid in the home of a Lahore-based wealthy lawyer, Chaudhry Naeem. Neighbors have alleged that Chaudhry Naeem's family physically beat the 12-year-old girl for petty lapses.^[2][6]

Circumstances of Death

On Friday, 22 January 2010, Shazia's step-father, Bashir Masih, received a call from Chaudhry Naeem reporting that she had fallen down the stairs. She was admitted to Jinnah Hospital. Doctors at Jinnah Hospital initially told her parents and the media that Shazia was dead on arrival, and that she may have died about four days earlier based on the state of the body. Shazia's killer had broken her jaw, ribs and right arm, and she bore signs of blunt force trauma on her sensitive parts,^[6] including kidneys, neck and forehead. There were also signs of trauma on her private parts.

Bashir Masih also reported in his statement to the police that Naeem offered him PKR 30,000 to stay silent and accept Shazia's body for burial. However, he refused the money and reported the case.

Trial

Following a media outcry, the police arrested Chaudhry Naeem, his son Yasir, sister-in-law and daughter-in-law.^[2] They were initially charged by the police with illegally employing a minor, physical torture of a child and murder.

However, soon there was an outcry from members of the Lahore Bar Association (LBA), of which Naeem had earlier served as President. The LBA alleged that the police was harassing an Advocate member of the LBA.^[6] They announced a boycott of court proceedings to protest the arrest of a member of the Bar Association.^[5]

Naeem in his statement to the police alleged that Shazia was misbehaving in Naeem's home. He charged her with taking food from the family's refrigerator without permission.

While the first autopsy report and statements from doctors at Jinnah Hospital alleged physical torture and abuse, a subsequent autopsy report claimed that Shazia died of cardiopulmonary arrest. A toxicology reported that Shazia died of sepsis or blood poisoning.^[3] Yet another medical report presented at trial stated that Shazia died of a skin disease.

Later, the media reported that Shazia's family had been paid PKR 10,000 at the time of her employment with Chaudhry Naeem's family. After Shazia's death gathered media attention, her family was offered PKR 500,000 and a house by Naeem.^[3] Chaudhry Naeem alleged that Bashir Masih filed charges against him because Naeem had refused Bashir's request for money. He further alleged that Shazia was mentally retarded. He claimed that he wanted Bashir to take his daughter back home, but Bashir had refused. As a result, Pakistan's Human Rights Activists distanced themselves from the case.^[3]

Shazia's step-father was paid PKR 500,000 in compensation before the trial and did not testify. During trial, the prosecution did not present the original autopsy report from the Jinnah Hospital. Instead a different medical report was presented which said that Shazia Masih died of a skin disease. Naeem and his family was acquitted as a result, since this report indicated that she died of natural causes.^[7]

Shazia's mother and step-father separated after the trial.

References