A young Christian woman was brutally gang-raped at gunpoint by her Muslim employer and an accomplice while working at a lemon farm in Shahkot, Pakistan.
The attackers bound her hands with her scarf, gagged her to silence her screams, and repeatedly assaulted her before dumping her unconscious on a roadside near her home.
Police have arrested the main suspect, while a second attacker remains at large and is being sought by authorities.
The victim’s impoverished family, already burdened by debt and disability, has appealed to the British Asian Christian Association (BACA) for urgent financial assistance.
BACA is standing alongside the traumatised family as they seek justice, medical care, and relief from crushing poverty following this horrific attack.
On 11th April 2026, a 24-year-old Christian woman named Sawera Manzoor was sexually assaulted at gunpoint by her Muslim employer, Muhammad Faizan, and an unidentified accomplice at a lemon farm in Shahkot, Pakistan. After the brutal attack, the perpetrators abandoned Sawera unconscious on a roadside near her home before fleeing the scene. She was discovered by relatives and rushed to hospital, where she remains under treatment in Lahore due to the severity of her injuries and trauma.
On 16th April, a team from the British Asian Christian Association (BACA) visited Sawera’s family to offer solidarity and assess their urgent financial needs. The team witnessed the family’s devastating living conditions and extreme poverty.
BACA met with Sawera’s cousin, Sikander Masih (31 yrs), who explained that Sawera’s father, Manzoor Masih, had died several years earlier, plunging the family into severe financial hardship. Since his death, Sawera, her younger brothers Sunny Masih (20 yrs) and Shanzay Masih (13 yrs), and her younger sister Arzoo Bibi (15 yrs) have all worked at a local brick kiln to survive. Their mother, Azra Bibi (50 yrs), has lost her eyesight and is entirely dependent on her children for care and support.
Sikander described the horrific details of the attack to BACA representatives. He explained that Sawera worked as a lemon picker for Muhammad Faizan, who regularly transported her to the orchard by rickshaw.
On the morning of 11th April, Faizan collected Sawera at approximately 8:00 am for a day of labour in the lemon orchard. At around 3:30 pm, after hours of physically demanding work, Sawera walked to a hand pump to drink water. It was there that Faizan and his accomplice ambushed her from behind.
The two men forcibly dragged Sawera into a nearby room where they threatened her with a gun before repeatedly raping her.
Sikander told BACA:
“The culprits tied Sawera’s hands with one side of her dupatta (long head scarf), while the other side was stuffed into her mouth to stop her from screaming.”
The prolonged and violent assault left Sawera unconscious. The attackers then discarded her on a roadside close to her home and fled.
“Some relatives found Sawera lying unconscious on the road and rushed to inform us,” said Sikander.
The family immediately contacted 1122 emergency services. Rescue personnel quickly arrived at the scene and, recognising the seriousness of her condition, transported Sawera by ambulance to Tehsil Headquarters Hospital (THQ) Shahkot for emergency medical treatment.
Although hospital staff discharged Sawera later that day, the family insist she had not fully regained consciousness at the time. It was only the following afternoon, after recovering sufficiently, that Sawera was able to reveal the details of the horrific assault and identify Muhammad Faizan as one of her attackers.
Her relatives immediately reported the crime to Shahkot Police Station. Police registered an FIR (First Information Report No. 222/26) against Muhammad Faizan and his unidentified accomplice under Section 375-A. Sawera was also subjected to a medico-legal examination at THQ Shahkot. Medical Legal Certificate (MLC No. 626) has confirmed that she was raped.
Police have since arrested Muhammad Faizan and remanded him to jail pending further judicial proceedings. However, the second suspect remains at large and is believed to have fled the area to avoid arrest.
The family’s suffering extends far beyond this horrific crime. They survive through the exhausting labour of Sawera’s two eldest brothers, who work at a brick kiln to repay debts incurred following their father’s illness and death. The family remains burdened by a debt of Rs. 270,000 (£715), borrowed to fund the medical treatment of Sawera’s late father and the marriage expenses of her elder sister, Anam Bibi.
The family also fears intimidation and coercion from relatives and associates of Sawera’s employer, who may attempt to pressure them into abandoning the case in exchange for financial compensation under Pakistan’s controversial Qisas and Diyat laws. These Islamic legal provisions have frequently been criticised for enabling perpetrators of serious crimes, including murder and sexual violence, to evade full justice through private financial settlements. Such “compromise agreements” are often secured under intense social and economic pressure, particularly when victims’ families are impoverished and vulnerable, as in Sawera’s case.
Azra Bibi, Sawera’s blind mother, now depends entirely on her children, several of whom are still minors, to provide food and shelter for the family.
While another charity has agreed to provide legal assistance, the family has appealed to BACA for urgent financial support to help repay the crippling brick kiln debt that has trapped them in a cycle of bonded labour and extreme poverty.
In response, BACA has launched an appeal to raise the £715 needed to free this vulnerable Christian family from debt bondage — a modern form of slavery that continues to devastate countless impoverished families in Pakistan. Despite the existence of Pakistan’s Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1992, the practice remains widespread, with many desperate families forced into exploitative labour under the burden of impossible debts.
As long as this family remains trapped in bonded labour, they remain highly vulnerable to intimidation, coercion, and pressure to abandon their pursuit of justice for Sawera. By helping to clear this debt, supporters can provide this traumatised family with greater security, dignity, and the freedom to continue seeking justice without fear.
To support this appeal and help free this family from bonded labour, please click (here).
Sunny Masih, Sawera’s brother, pleaded:
“We would be grateful for any help in escaping the poverty and enslavement we are trapped in. Working off our father’s debt has been a debilitating experience. We are frightened of what may happen if our sister’s employer speaks to our brick kiln owner — this could place our family in an even more vulnerable and difficult situation.
We want justice for our sister, but we also want the freedom to leave the brick kiln. The never-ending debt has kept our family in poverty, hardship, and shame for many years.”
