‘This is my last call...I’ve no time left’: Banda man recalls daughter’s final words before her execution in UAE
Shahzadi, a 33-year-old woman from Goyra Mugli village in U.P’s Banda district, was facing a death sentence in the UAE for the death of a four-month-old child under her care
Shabbir Ahmed and Nazra Begum, the parents of Shahzadi Khan, were informed on Monday that their daughter had been executed in an Abu Dhabi prison more than a fortnight ago.
Shahzadi, a 33-year-old woman from Goyra Mugli village in U.P’s Banda district, was facing a death sentence in United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the death of a four-month-old child under her care.
A day before her execution on February 15, Shabbir received an emotionally charged phone call from his daughter. This would be their last conversation.
“This is my last call to you,” Shahzadi told him. “A captain visited me today, and I’ve been isolated. He told me that I have no time left,” Shabbir’s voice trembled with grief as he recalled the conversation, which originated from Al Batwa prison.
Shahzadi continued: “I have no debts. I’ve faced so many hardships in life, and now this final one is freeing me. Try to forget me.” These haunting words of resignation echoed in Shabbir’s mind as he tried to process the enormity of what was happening.
Shabbir and his wife were shattered by the loss of their daughter. “I learned of her death today, Monday,” Shabbir said, his sorrow overwhelming. “They told me she will be buried in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. I hope they send her body back to us for burial.”
Shahzadi’s life was marked by hardships from a young age. Disfigured by burns as a child, she was sent to Abu Dhabi in December of 2022 for medical treatment. Instead, she was forced into domestic servitude after her employer arranged a domestic worker’s visa for her.
The tragic sequence of events culminated in the death of her employer’s infant child in early 2023, for which Shahzadi was blamed. She was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death.
Shabbir’s last memory of his daughter was the conversation on February 14, as Shahzadi sobbed, knowing she would never speak to her family again. As he spoke, he remembered the despair in his daughter’s voice even as he believed that she was treated unfairly by the UAE law.
After the conversation with his daughter, Shabbir sought help from the Ministry of External Affairs on February 20 but received no response. Subsequently, Ahmed filed a petition in the Delhi High Court on March 1. The ministry informed the court that Shahzadi had been executed on February 15, leaving her family with little recourse and no closure beyond their final, tragic phone call.
