When she was six, Sara complained that her mother hit her, but that her father and stepmother, who were convicted of her murder, didn’t.
Sara Sharif told a social worker she felt safe living with her father and stepmother because “they don’t hit me”, four years before she died from their brutal campaign of torture.
The school girl’s haunting words are buried in hundreds of pages of private family court papers that were disclosed after an application by media organisations, including WTX News.
Asked what made her happy, Sara replied: “Movie night and when people play with me … When people be nice to me.”
Sara Sharif told social worker ‘they don’t hit me’ four years before her murder
The then-six-year-old made the comments during a welfare check after moving in with her father, Urfan Sharif, and his wife, Beinash Batool, who was known to Sara as Ammi, an Urdu word for mum.
“I like living with Ammi and Daddy because I am safe and they don’t hit me,” she told the social worker.
Sara completed worksheets about her feelings and said she loved school and that her siblings made her laugh. When asked what made her feel sad, Sara replied: “When people punch me, when Mum slaps me and people who shout at me, it makes me really worried. Ammi doesn’t hit me or slap me, she puts me in the naughty corner.”
When asked what made her feel safe, she replied: “When nobody hits me and I live with Ammi and Daddy.”
The social worker recommended Sara and her sibling continue residing with their stepmother and father, despite being aware of a history of abuse allegations against Sharif.