Discrimination Embedded in Society against Sanitary Workers

Farkhund Yousafzai

Islamabad: With a metal rod to lift the sewer lid and a bamboo stick to unclog the pipes, Imran Masih kicks off his day to earn a livelihood. He is a sanitation worker in a busy neighborhood in Islamabad, who works hard to keep the capital clean and green but is not recognized well for his services.

“I know well it’s risky, unhygienic and people look down on us. I risk my health and life every day to earn bread for my family. If I don’t do this, my children would starve. This is the only profession I know,” said Masih, who has been working in G-10 Markaz for more than 20 years.

Despite his hard work, Masih does not get paid much and on routine, he earns less than 1000 rupees. “It is very difficult to meet daily needs with such a meager income but I have to do this work to survive,” the 55-year-old told The PenPK.com.

Sanitation workers are individuals whose jobs include cleaning toilets, emptying pits, and septic tanks, cleaning sewers and manholes, and operating pumping stations and treatment plants. Their work is usually accompanied by a set of risks, some of them life-threatening. Masih is one of the thousands undertaking these risks on a daily basis around the country without enough protective gear.

According to a joint report published in November 2019, titled: ‘Health, Safety, and Dignity of Sanitation Workers,’ by the World Bank, World Health Organization (WHO), International Labour Organization (ILO), and Water Aid jointly, the sanitation workers are among the most invisible and neglected ones in the societies around the world.

“These workers are often the most marginalized, poor, and discriminated-against members of society who carry out their jobs with no equipment, protection, or legal rights, often violating their dignity and human rights. It is only when those critical services fail, when society is confronted with fecal waste in ditches, streets, rivers, and beaches or occasional media reports of sanitation workers’ deaths, that the daily practice and plight of sanitation workers come to light,” the report says.

The worst working conditions of sanitation workers in Pakistan are due to the severe lack of awareness, denial of basic human rights, and shortage of protective tools. During the peak days of Covid-19, the Supreme Court of Pakistan, in its judgment on June 8, 2020, in a suo moto case, stated that all state authorities should be directed to provide sanitary workers with all required safety kits in order to ensure that while doing their work, their health is not adversely affected by any disease. The SC ordered all the provincial governments to legislate in this regard.

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) followed the orders to some extent and provided safety kits and tools to the sanitation workers. But there are several structural problems in this sector that rendered these steps useless. Due to a lack of awareness, check and balance, and necessary follow-ups, the majority of these workers do not follow the rules and regulations to avoid serious deceases and death risks.

“The real issue in Pakistan is the implementation of laws and court orders. Our institutions and authorities often fail to implement the laws in letter and spirit. The federal and ICT administration need to prioritise the health and well-being of the sanitation workers and take all steps in this direction. They need to follow the court orders wholeheartedly,” said Kiran Javaid Raja who is an advocate at Islamabad High Court.

She further said that the ICT administration has made some progress by providing safety kits and gloves to these workers but they should also be adequately trained and educated to follow rules and regulations and avoid negligence. “The administration should keep check and balance and ensure that all safety regulations are followed,” she added.

Boota Imtiaz Masih, who is a social and human rights activist, agreed to some extent with the advocate Kiran Javaid Raja that ICT had taken some steps to provide safety gear to the sanitation workers but he seemed dissatisfied with the overall performance of the capital administration as well as all the provincial and local governments in implementing the SC orders in letter and spirit.

He said that SC had ordered all the governments to legislate for the safety of sanitation workers but such legislations were yet to see the light of the day.

“I had written letters to ICT administration, federal and provincial governments three months ago, requesting them to provide information, if any, regarding the aforementioned laws but they failed to answer me positively. It seems that authorities are not taking the matter seriously and are continuously ignoring the Court orders to legislate for the sanitation workers,” Masih told The PenPk.com.

Boota Masih believes that unfortunately, the sanitation workers are doing their jobs in worse conditions. He was of the view that most people do not treat them with respect and it is a stark example of religious discrimination in society.

According to the 1998 Census, Christians fill about 80 per cent of sanitation jobs and lower-caste Hindus mostly fill the rest. It proves that Muslim citizens don’t like the job and it is left only to the non-Muslims.

Yousaf Masih, a sanitation worker in Bhara Kahu, Islamabad seconded Boota Imtiaz’s statement that Muslims were not preferred for this job in Pakistan as it was considered nasty and dirty. He is also unhappy with the public attitude towards sanitation workers.

“When I began with the job 10 years ago, I used to clean the streets, sewers, and manholes and preferred to avoid working privately but soon I realized that my salary is short to meet my daily needs. So, I started cleaning toilets in private offices and houses also. Most of the time, people try to avoid offering me food in their utensils when I clean toilets in their homes,” said Yousaf Masih.

Sanitation is the basic service essential for the health and welfare of a society and sanitation workers play a crucial role in the development of a country. Their services cannot be ignored and downgraded in a civilized society. Atique Rehman Sheikh, a philanthropist and volunteer activist at International Human Rights Commission (IHRC), told the PenPK.com, “It’s about time for the society to change its behaviour towards the sanitation workers and treat them with respect and dignity. They are equally entitled to our love and compassion as equal citizens and human beings.”