Sanitation work in Pakistan is disproportionately assigned to non-Muslims who belong to so-called “lower castes,” often without real choice in the matter.
This report explores how communities in Pakistan that are marginalized due to their caste and religious identities experience compounded discrimination in Pakistan’s sanitation sector.
For this research, Amnesty International partnered with the Center for Law & Justice (CLJ), a human rights organization in Pakistan working for the rights of religious communities and women and labor rights. This research found evidence that sanitation work in Pakistan is marked by caste-based discrimination. Furthermore, sanitation workers in the study reported being exposed to hazardous working conditions and exploitative employment structures. The research finds that Pakistan lacks the legal instruments and processes to address the unique forms of discrimination and exclusions that sanitation workers experience in the country.
Pakistani authorities must abide by international human rights law and standards and extend rights to sanitation workers without discrimination on the basis of class, caste and religion through specific legislative action to address caste-based discrimination, treating sewerage work as hazardous and ensuring effective implementation of labor laws to sanitation work.
Read “Cut Us Open and See That We Bleed Like Them”: Discrimination and Stigmatization of Sanitation Workers in Pakistan.