27/09/2026
Let us tell you the story of Maryam:
Maryam was a 14-year-old Muslim girl of Chechen descent who lived with her family in Norway. At that age, a girl's world is usually limited to school, friends, play, and dreams for the future — but Maryam's misfortune was that at this age she had to face a terrifying situation. Government officials took her from her home. Separation from her parents and siblings, distance from home, then isolation, and death.
Last month, Maryam was separated from her family and placed under the care of Norway's official child welfare agency, "Barnevernet," in the city of Bergen. During this time, her parents were also held in custody for several weeks. Someone had filed a complaint with the authorities. The family says the complaints against them were baseless and made in bad faith.
Thus, 14-year-old Maryam suddenly found herself in an unfamiliar environment, far from her home, parents, and loved ones. But the real ordeal began after that.
At the government facility, Maryam faced severe difficulties regarding food. She was pressured to eat pork, while being Muslim, she considered it forbidden (haram) and kept refusing to eat it. There was no proper halal food alternative arranged for her, as a result of which she remained constantly and severely hungry.
This was not merely a food problem. For a young Muslim girl, it was also a matter of her faith and identity. She was under intense mental distress, far from her parents. In a new environment, she was trying to hold on to her religion.
About a month later, on September 16th, Maryam's condition suddenly deteriorated severely. She was transferred unconscious to Haukeland University Hospital, where she remained continuously in a coma.
Four days later, on September 20th, Maryam lost her life. The innocent soul had become so weak from continuous hunger, separation from her parents, and severe mental distress that, despite treatment, she could not survive.
Maryam was only 14 years old. Her parents, who were already devastated by the trauma of her separation, who wanted to see Maryam chirping happily in their courtyard again, were helplessly counting her final breaths. Then she took her last breath and fell silent forever.
Maryam's death has once again raised questions about the inhumane and horrific treatment of Muslim families in Europe, carried out in the name of child protection.
In Norway, Barnevernet is the official child protection system, whose primary purpose is to provide protection to children who, according to authorities, face a risk of harm at home or within their family. In some cases, a child may be separated from their parents temporarily or permanently and placed with a foster family or institution.
Although this system is fundamentally designed for child protection, Muslim families say it has begun to be used ruthlessly against Muslims based on false complaints. Children are snatched from their parents. The parents are left in anguish, and the children too keep crying and screaming. But they are forcibly taken away. No consideration is given to religious, cultural, or family background.
Such treatment would be cruel even toward the child of an atheist family. But a Muslim child has their own religious identity, concept of halal and haram, worship practices, language, family traditions, and cultural attachments. When they are kept away from home for a long period, it is not just separation from home that becomes a problem — they also become distanced from their language, religion, and culture.
These concerns are especially prominent among immigrant and refugee families. Families newly arrived in a country are often not fully familiar with the language, laws, and social systems. Certain practices considered normal in their home country are viewed differently in the new society. As a result, sometimes a complaint from a school, sometimes a report from a neighbor, and sometimes an internal family matter triggers a complex legal process.
After a child is separated from their parents, another question arises: where and in what environment should they be placed?
If the child is placed with a family unfamiliar with their religion, language, and culture, then despite outwardly being in a "safe" environment, the child suffers from deep inner alienation. They find themselves in a world completely different from their own home. The language spoken at home changes, eating habits change, the religious environment changes, and sometimes the people around the child are not even fully aware of their basic religious needs.
This is why some human rights organizations and Muslim organizations are emphasizing that religious and cultural sensitivity must also be taken into account in child protection systems, especially in cases of children who are separated from their parents for long periods.
Because protecting a child is not just about providing them with shelter, food, and education.
A child also has a religion, a language, a culture, a family, and an identity of their own.
Maryam's death is not merely a tragic incident befalling one girl — it is also an unveiling of a darker face of Europe than Genghis Khan's. Those who claim to be champions of the rights of children — indeed even animals — what treatment are they meting out to Muslim children in their own countries?
This law is not limited to Norway alone. In numerous countries — including Britain, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, France, the United States, Canada, and Australia — the state has the authority to separate a child from their parents, temporarily or permanently, on the pretext of risk of abuse, neglect, or harm, and place them in foster care or state custody. However, the legal procedures, the court's role, and the conditions for separating a child from their parents differ from country to country.
A fourteen-year-old girl was separated from her home. She could not return home. Maryam's detailed post-mortem is still pending, and further investigations are also ongoing.
(Zia Chitrali , Pakistani journalist )
