Pakistan Bulletin
An up-to-date and informed analysis of key issues of Pakistan.
The Hidden Injustice of Bonded Labour in Pakistan
December 2024
Through a system of predatory loans and manipulated debts, workers from marginalized communities are trapped in a cycle of poverty and exploitation. Although laws exist to prevent this practice, weak enforcement and deep-rooted social inequalities allow this modern form of slavery to persist, hampering both human rights and national development.
Bonded labour, a modern form of slavery, continues to plague Pakistan despite its official abolition in 1992. This exploitative practice traps millions of vulnerable individuals, particularly in brick kilns, agriculture, and domestic work, through a vicious cycle of debt and poverty. Workers, often from marginalized communities, are forced to work in inhumane conditions to repay loans that seem to multiply endlessly due to predatory interest rates and manipulated accounts. The practice is deeply entrenched in Pakistan’s socio-economic fabric, perpetuated by poverty, illiteracy, and weaker law enforcement. While the government has introduced various legislative measures to combat bonded labour, the practice persists due to deeply rooted social hierarchies, economic disparities, and inadequate implementation of existing laws. This widespread human rights violation not only devastates individuals and families but also undermines Pakistan’s social and economic development.
Climate-induced migration has recently become a major cause for this labour exploitation practice in urban areas as flood and drought induced destruction forces people from vulnerable households in the rural areas to migrate to urban areas in search of employment. As the majority of these workers belong to not only poor but non-Muslims households, they end up finding themselves in low paying informal employment which further pushes them in a downward poverty spiral.
Female bonded laborers’ vulnerability is compounded by both their status as bonded workers and their gender, making them targets of various forms of violence.
Women are overrepresented in bonded labour. In 2023, the Hari Welfare Association (HWA) reported cases of around 542 bonded labourers in Sindh, 363 of which were women and children. Women who are forced into the trap of bonded labour face exploitation not only in terms of low wages and unsafe working conditions, but gender based physical and sexual violence as well.
One major cause of the continuation of this inhumane practice is the country’s fluctuating economic condition which forces households into poverty shocks resulting in the families resorting to desperate measures to keep the household running. With households having no possession of assets or valuable items at their disposal, the only tradable good that remains is their own labour and freedom.
The climate disasters of 2022 and 2024 further worsened the conditions for households that were already suffering from poverty or were on the brink of the poverty line by causing damage to livelihood, livestock, crops, and infrastructure. As industries suffered from the aftermath of the flooding, so did employment opportunities, resulting in the rise of informal and low paying employment contracts with little to no workplace safety or employee rights.
According to the HWA, districts in lower Sindh were significantly affected by the floods, resulting in the number of bonded labourers in Sindh to double in a one year period from 2022 to 2023, with the highest number being in Sanghar, one of the major contributors of the agriculture sector of Pakistan.
The judicial remedy to bonded labour has remained restricted to merely freeing up detained workers from bonded work. There has been no legal action ordered against the perpetrators, that inclde powerful landlords to local contractors. This sends a powerful message that the law is helpless against the forces that supervise and benefit from labour bondage.
Under the Bonded Labour (System) Abolition Act, 1992 Vigilance Committees – comprising District Chairmen (Mayors), local bar associations, press and local civil society – are required to be constituted at the district level for implementation of the provisions of the law. The key tasks of the committees are to advise the district administration on matters relating to the effective implementation of the law and to ensure its implementation in a proper manner; to help in the rehabilitation of the freed bonded labourer; and to keep an eye on the working of the law, among others. However, civil society and labour rights activists have repeatedly flagged the non-functionality of DVCs.
As anti-slavery laws are barely enforced and the system remains corrupt, human rights organizations rise to the occasion as a beacon of hope and extend support to freeing these families. In Pakistan, civil society organisations, like the Human Right Commission of Pakistan, Bonded Labour Liberation Front Pakistan (BLLFP), Hari Welfare Association, and Bhandar Hari Sangat among others have helped in the liberation and rehabilitation of bonded labourers by providing them legal assistance, and shelter in the form of camps. There are eight camps in the province of Sindh. However, these camps are mired in structural problems including lack of basic amenities such as healthcare, clean water, sanitation, and proper roads. Resource access worsens in times of climate disasters as these camps become a breeding ground for diseases and further expose families to healthcare vulnerabilities.
With weak enforcement of anti-slavery legislation and widespread corruption undermining official protections, human rights organizations have emerged as crucial allies in the fight against bonded labor, working tirelessly to liberate families trapped in this exploitative system.
In addition to lack of knowledge of an alternate skill that impedes alternate livelihood, lack of documentation becomes another barrier between these workers hosed in the camps, and formal employment. The rescue camps are not given permanent residential permits which makes any official documentation process impossible, and hence makes these workers ineligible for formal employment that requires comprehensive documentation. The absence of basic facilities and the non availability of a comprehensive rehabilitation and resettlement plan for the former victims of bonded labour leads them to a condition of destitute, forcing them to return to old employment or take to beggary and child labour to make ends meet.
To rid the underprivileged strata of society of this criminal injustice that has been forced on them for years, a unified approach from the government, judicial system, social welfare organization, and financial institutions is needed. Education and legal counsel should be provided to families forced into bonded labor by connecting them to social safety programmes run by welfare organizations. Secondly, alternative employment opportunities must be provided to people belonging to vulnerable communities especially those affected by climate disasters. Regulatory mechanisms for factories and fields need to be implemented with strict checks and penalties for those violating the law and easy credit access and documentation should be provided to families suffering from economic shocks and poverty.
Join Our Mailing List
Get the latest news and updates from our team