A Kingwood mother is facing felony charges after allegedly beating, choking, and burning her teenage daughter for being upset with her for not wearing her hijab and overcooking pita bread, according to Harris County prosecutors.
36-year-old Sittarh Mazhar Khan was arrested at 12:45 a.m. Wednesday, according to court records. She is accused of assaulting a family member and impeding breath/circulation, as well as injury to a child causing bodily injury.
Khan allegedly got upset with her 14-year-old daughter for not wearing her hijab, a garment worn by some Muslim women to cover their hair.
“The defendant, upset the complainant did not wear her hijab at school, beat and choked the complainant, causing her to lose consciousness,” the hearing officer said during Khan’s probable cause hearing on Wednesday afternoon.
A source close to the investigation told KPRC 2 Khan discovered the head covering was missing in an Instagram post of her daughter.
The injury to a child charge stems from an incident over pita bread, after Khan allegedly got upset about it being overcooked and “forced the complainant’s arm onto a hot oven rack, causing her to have three burn marks,” the hearing officer said.
It’s not clear if both incidents happened at the same time, or how they were reported to law enforcement.
Prosecutors asked for a $75,000 total bond but a hearing officer set bond at $20,000 for both charges. Khan is due in court Thursday morning.
The hearing officer said the 14-year-old victim is in Child Protective Services custody.
Khan’s hired defense attorney has not yet responded to KPRC 2′s request for comment.