Houston Child Abuse Case Uncovers Larger Issues No One Wants to Face

[Geee]

PJ Media

A mother in Texas has pleaded guilty to severe abuse of her fourteen-year-old daughter, including choking, beating, and even burning. The case is horrifying enough in itself, but it uncovers even deeper issues that no one in American public life has yet shown any willingness to face. Eventually, however, these issues will become unavoidable and obvious to everyone.

 

Click2Houston reported Tuesday that Sittarh Mazhar Khan, a Muslim woman in Kingwood, Texas, a section of Houston, “is accused of beating, choking, and burning her 14-year-old daughter in October of last year.” At a hearing on her case, an officer explained that “the defendant, upset the complainant did not wear her hijab at school, beat and choked the complainant, causing her to lose consciousness.”  

As if that weren’t bad enough, Khan also became enraged after her daughter overcooked some pita bread. She then “forced the complainant’s arm onto a hot oven rack, causing her to have three burn marks.” Yet for all this, Khan received only cursory punishment: “Khan’s plea agreement includes deferred adjudication for three years. During that time, she has to complete 100 hours of community service, donate $100 to the Houston Food Bank, cannot use drugs or alcohol and must attend a 4-hour anger management class.”

Not only is that a ridiculously light sentence in light of what Sittarh Khan did, it is also undeniable that none of it is going to ensure that Khan won’t engage in this kind of behavior again. That’s because none of it addresses why this happened in the first place. The prohibition on drugs and alcohol is entirely irrelevant, as Khan didn’t abuse her daughter while drunk or high. The anger management class is likewise beside the point, as Khan is unlikely to have acted upon a fit of uncontrollable rage. Nothing in Khan’s sentence addresses the fact that she treated her daughter this way because of principles and assumptions derived from Islamic texts and teachings. No one involved in this case, aside from the defendant herself and her friends and family, was likely aware of that or would have dared to address it if he had been.