Pakistan Bulletin

An up-to-date and informed analyses of key issues of Pakistan.

Karachi’s Religious Minorities: Discrimination, Exploitation, and the Struggle to Survive

September 2024

Employees belonging to religious minority groups often encounter prejudice and unfair treatment in their work environments. However, they frequently find themselves in a difficult position where speaking out could lead to negative consequences.

Laxmi Bai leaves her house at 7 a.m. every morning and returns about 12 hours later. She works at a garment factory in Korangi Industrial Area in Karachi where she does not receive the same privileges as her Muslim co-workers. She explains that she is not allowed time off for her religious festivals. In a year, Holi, Diwali, and Rakhi Bandhan are her major festivals, but if she takes a day off for any of them, her daily wage is deducted. Her wage is Rs 800 daily, and even a single day of deduction disrupts her monthly budget. Despite wanting to celebrate, she continues working. In contrast, Muslim workers receive holidays for Eid and other festivals.
In this factory, Hindus, Christians and Muslims work together. Muslim women workers receive a one-hour break for prayer and meals, while the Hindu and Christian communities are given only a 20-minute break, making it difficult even to finish eating in that short time.
This denim garment factory produces fabric from threads; cutting and packing are done on-site. Laxmi works on making buttonholes for pants.
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), the principle of equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation was established in the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), which requires that nobody is treated differently, excluded from an opportunity or given preference based on his/her ethnicity or religion, but that all workers are treated equally per their merit, capacity, skills and ability.
Elizabeth Thomas works as an in-home nurse. She administers injections, drips, and feeding tubes for patients at their homes. She explains that while people’s behaviour is generally positive during her work, being a minority sometimes brings challenges, such as not getting time off during religious holidays, even though her Muslim co-workers are given more leniency.

Religious minority workers face pressure from peers, who often ask why they don’t convert.

With a population of over 20 million, Karachi is Pakistan’s largest city. People belonging to religious minorities including Christians, Hindus, Parsis, and Sikhs also live here. According to the Population Census 2023 the Christian population of Karachi is 435,621, and the Hindu population is 244,689. These groups work in both the labour and the service sectors but often face discrimination based on religion. This has become a routine part of life, and many incidents go unreported.
Jamna Krishan is a widow who works as a cleaner at a private school. Her duties include cleaning the school and washing children’s clothes if they get dirty. She earns 4,500 rupees for working from morning until 2 p.m., and even during religious festivals, she works. If she falls sick and can’t come to work, the school deducts 150 rupees from her salary.
Although the Sindh government has set the minimum wage at Rs 37,000 for unskilled workers, many workers, including Jamna Krishan, are not paid this amount.
Jyoti works in a warehouse and says that she has stopped celebrating festivals years ago because celebrating requires money. She recounts that she has often been asked to convert to Islam. Once, when she went to work in a warehouse in Sher Shah with other women, two men asked her why she didn’t convert to Islam. The woman with her responded, “Would you leave your religion to join us?” This led to an argument and eventually a physical fight. The warehouse owner intervened, but she left the job three days later.
Jyoti also recalls an incident where she and other Muslim and Hindu labourers were working at a refugee camp. During a lunch break, they drank water from the same cooler. A Muslim woman objected, saying, “Why did you drink water from here? You are a Hindu.” An argument ensued, but the manager, who was a Muslim, supported her and said that everyone had the right to drink water from the cooler. The Muslim women didn’t agree, and the one who protested was eventually fired.
Kokab Noreen is a physical instructor at a school. She says that not only is she encouraged to convert, but so are her children. Kokab, a single mother, allowed her daughter to study Islamic studies at a Muslim school to avoid affecting her grades. One day, a child asked her daughter if she knew the first Kalma (Islamic creed), and when she recited it, the child declared, “Now you are a Muslim.” Kokab had to explain to her daughter that reciting the Kalma doesn’t change one’s religion. She went to the school the next day, and they addressed the issue.
Karachi presents a complex tapestry of religious diversity. While many areas see Christians, Hindus, and Parsis living in distinct communities, a significant number find themselves in mixed neighbourhoods. These areas, often characterized by poor living conditions, lack basic amenities such as clean water, reliable electricity, and accessible healthcare and education services. This situation paints a grim picture of the challenges faced by minority groups in urban Pakistan.
The impact of these substandard living conditions is particularly pronounced among the minority labour class. These communities, already marginalized in many aspects of society, find themselves disproportionately affected by the lack of essential services. The root of this disparity often lies in their systematic exclusion from social support systems, perpetuating a cycle of poverty and lack of opportunity that proves difficult to break.

Many minority workers reside in underdeveloped neighbourhoods lacking essential services. These areas often have inadequate access to clean water, consistent power supply, healthcare, and education.

A woman from the Christian community interviewed for this article faces significant challenges due to frequent load-shedding and a lack of reliable water supply. With a limited income of Rs 18,000 a month, she struggles to keep her family comfortable in their one-bedroom house. The financial strain leads to anxiety about meeting their basic needs and providing a stable future for her children.
Similarly, a woman from the Hindu community experiences the burden of high electricity bills, which consume half of her Rs 37,000 monthly income. Load-shedding forces her family to spend time in the courtyard, limiting their comfort and activities. The pressure of balancing work and family life, coupled with financial constraints, makes daily life difficult.

The concentration of minorities in underdeveloped areas with limited access to basic services highlights the need for more inclusive urban planning and social welfare policies. Addressing these disparities is crucial not only for the well-being of minority communities but also for fostering a more equitable and harmonious society in Karachi and beyond.

Fahmida Riaz Shehwani

Author

The writer is a freelance journalist and researcher. Her X handle: @FehmidaRiaz

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