Brilio.net/en - A Bangledsh cricket star and his wife have come under serious scrutiny after 11-year old Mahfuza Happy Akhter escaped from their house and claims they physically abused her. The child labor narrowly escaped from the home where Shahadat Hossain and his wife Nritto Shahadat were living. When a journalist found her on the side of the road after she escaped, it was doubtful that the young girl was exacerbating her injuries. "The girl had substantial injuries -- several parts of her body were dislocated, she had swollen eyes, and was bruised extensively," Bangladesh Police Inspector General Nazrul Islam told CNN.
Police issued an appeal for Hossain and his wife after the couple fled their home is Dhaka. After four weeks of searching for the couple, the wife was found in her parents home. The subsequent day Hossain turned himself in and the pair are now in custody and charged with child repression and employing a minor. Hossain's lawyer says he is innocent and that he wasn't home the day Happy, the nickname of Mahfuza, ran away.
The young maid said that her grandmother had sent her to work, as her extended family needed the money. The working conditions that the young girl claims she was subjected to are enough to pull on anyones heartstrings. She was forced to sleep in the bathroom and wasnt properly fed, often eating the spoiled leftovers of the rich couple. "They used to beat me with sticks, kitchen utensils, punch me, and scratch me. I would be slapped a lot," she says. A distinct scar on her face only further proves her story.
2016 CNN Shahadat Hossain and his wife, Nritto Shahadat, are escorted by security to court appearances in October.
Social uproar has been loud against Hossain. Considered a hero amongst the younger generation he is the only Bangladeshi bowler to be listed on the Lords Honour Board, a huge achievement for any cricketer. The Bangladesh Cricket Board has since suspended the 29 year old fast bowler.
Unfortunately for the young children of Bangladesh, child labor is an all too common problem for the county. Around 13% of the children aged five to 14 are employed as illegal labors, many of them young girls that work in the domestic field. A cultural ideology permeates that children should support the older generations, and this impart forces family members such as Happys grandmother to send her young offspring to work.
For now, Happy is living in a shelter and creating a new life for herself and living up to her nickname. With a smile she says that her future plans are bright. I want to go to school, I want to go to college and become an actress.
(Reported by Ivana Lucic)