Parents of UP woman executed in UAE seek govt help for funeral at homeland

JHANSI: The parents of Shahzadi Khan, 33-year-old Banda resident who was executed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on February 15 for allegedly killing a child, have expressed their financial helplessness and sought help from the government to arrange for her last rights to be held in her homeland. "All I want is to be able to see my daughter's face one last time," said an inconsolable Shabbir Khan, her father.
Shahzadi, of village Goyera Mughli in Uttar Pradesh's Banda district, was convicted of murdering a four-month-old child in Abu Dhabi and executed in UAE's Al Wathba jail on Feb 15. Her last rites are to be performed in the UAE today (March 5).
Her father Shabbir Khan told TOI that they had pleaded with the Indian Embassy in the UAE to get her body, which was denied by the UAE authorities. However, the family was told that they could attend the last rites.
"But we have no money to travel to Abu Dhabi. We can barely make both ends meet," said Shabbir Khan.
"She had suffered burns on her face in a kitchen accident as a child. She lost confidence because of her face with burn marks. The desire to undergo plastic surgery led her to that far-off land," said Khan.
"She was wronged as a child when that accident took away her beautiful face. She was wronged as an adult when her Facebook friend Uzair trafficked her to the UAE where she was forced to work as a maid. She was wrongly implicated and was executed without a trial or proper representation. And now, her remains will long forever for her native land," said Khan, blaming himself for not being able to do much for his daughter.
Her brother Shamsher Khan said that the family had sought her body, so that they could at least bury her at their ancestral place with honour, but to no avail.
The family had received her last call on Feb 15 where Shahzadi told them that she had been relocated within the facility and that, prior to her potential execution, her final wish was to speak with her parents.
She told them not to run pillar to post as she could be executed any hour. According to her brother, she said her life has been a series of accidents, but this one could be the end of all her miseries.
The family filed a writ petition in the Delhi high court, after which they were informed about her execution on Monday and that her funeral would be held on Wednesday.