How Allah Yar’s Escape from Kiln Leads to New Chains

Shazia Mehboob

Islamabad: His life took a darker turn when the kiln owner sold him to a friend who owned a dairy farm. The sale was made under the guise of an advance payment, and Allah Yar was led to believe that he would receive a fixed monthly salary of 20,000 rupees and a chance for his family to leave the harsh kiln environment.

“The brick kiln owner sold me to his friend, who owns a dairy farm. After receiving some advance money from my owner, I began working under the pretence that I would receive a monthly salary of 20,000 PKR here, and that my family accompanying me would also be able to escape the kiln environment,” Allah Yar recalled his nightmare.

At a brick kiln in Jahanian, Punjab, a story of courage and resolve unfolds—one that is both heartbreaking and inspiring. This is the story of Allah Yar, a father of five, who found himself trapped in the brutal cycle of bonded labour, and his mother, Kaneez Bibi, who refused to accept this fate for her son.

Allah Yar had spent nearly a decade as a brick maker, or “pathair,” at Pathan Kiln 118/10R in Jahanian. As the sole breadwinner for his family, his days were spent in backbreaking labour to support his three daughters and two sons.

Dr Faisal Iqbal, a labour rights activist working with a leading organisation working for labour rights, explains that forced labour is widespread in Pakistan, especially in agriculture, brick kilns, mining, carpet weaving, and domestic work. “The lack of enforcement of labour laws and high levels of poverty allow for exploitation,” he notes.

This form of exploitation disproportionately affects marginalised communities, particularly women and children, who are further endangered by limited access to education, Dr Iqbal added.

This extensive exploitation is echoed in Allah Yar’s story, where he was deceived, abused, and deprived of his rightful wages, reflecting how forced labour not only robs individuals of their dignity and livelihood but also perpetuates a cycle of poverty and injustice on a much broader scale.

“In the first three to four months, my new employer’s attitude toward me was very good, but after that, it changed completely. Although he hadn’t paid me my monthly salary from the very beginning, his initial kindness was why I stayed. However, once he started drinking alcohol, his attitude shifted, and he began to beat me,” Allah Yar narrated.

Dr Iqbal elaborates on the main reasons for bonded labour in Pakistan: “Poverty, limited education, feudal customs, and ineffective labour regulations trap workers in debt bondage, leading families to suffer for consecutive generations.” This is reflected in Allah Yar’s case, where abuse became routine.

The abuse escalated—physical beatings became routine, and the employer even took away the little money Allah Yar had, including the charity (Zakat) he had received during Ramadan, claiming it was part of the 70,000-rupee advance.

The poor Allah Yar says, “he never allowed us to stay there comfortably and even snatched my mobile. There was also an incident when he took away the charity (Zakat) I received during Ramazan and claimed that he had paid me 70,000 rupees as my advance (paishgi).”

Allah Yar’s mother, Kaneez Bibi, and his younger brother, who continued to toil at the kiln, knew the full extent of his suffering. However, they felt powerless to intervene, trapped by the kiln’s hostile environment and their critical financial situation.

“My mother and younger brother, who were working at the kiln, were aware of all the facts, but they felt powerless to help me due to the hostile environment of the brick kilns and our poor financial condition,” Yar recalled during his telephonic interview with the PenPK.com team.

Allah Yar struggled daily to provide for his family, relying on loans from acquaintances, while his employer gave him a mere 500 rupees per week—barely enough to survive.

“I was struggling to feed my family by taking loans from acquaintances because my employer barely paid me 500 rupees per week,” he maintained.

Where there is a will, there is a way

The turning point came when Kaneez Bibi, mother of Allah Yar, learned about a non-profit organisation called SPARC’s legal aid initiative.

“Finally, when my mother learned about SPARC’s legal aid initiative, she dared to fight the case and set me free. My employer kept threatening me during this time, saying, ‘I will bring you back by investing more money, and you will suffer like before, “ Yar further explained his tale of miseries against bonded labour.

With SPARC’s legal support, Bibi gathered the courage to fight for her son’s freedom. Despite the owner’s threats to recapture him and continue his torment, she persisted.

Bonded labour, particularly in brick kilns, is entrenched in the social and economic fabric of the country. Rehabilitation programs, legal aid services, and NGOs offering vocational training aim to help survivors of forced labour, but the road is long. “These initiatives face considerable hurdles in execution and coverage,” Dr Iqbal remarks.

Today, Allah Yar is free, but he still bears the scars of his experience. He dreams of leaving this cruel profession behind, yet the debts accumulated over the last 16 months—loans taken to cover his wife’s delivery, his daughter’s funeral, and the daily needs of his family—still weigh his shoulders.

Kaneez Bibi’s bravery and SPARC’s support have given Allah Yar a chance at a new life, but the journey ahead is still laden with challenges. Their story is a stirring and touching reminder that for many, bonded labour is not a choice, but a compulsion born out of desperation.

Dr Iqbal from ILO stresses, “The scars of bonded labour are generational, affecting not only the workers but entire families trapped in cycles of poverty. While efforts are being made, systemic reform is crucial to break these chains.”

While the battle won by Kaneez Bibi to free her son from bonded labour is a victory, it serves as a stark reminder of the broader struggle against forced labour. As long as exploitative practices remain unchecked, countless families will continue to suffer in silence, their stories untold,” said Faisal Saleem, a forced labour activist from the Khanewal region of Punjab.

Eradicating this inhumane practice is long and arduous, which requires more than legal frameworks. It requires a collective societal commitment. Because change is only possible when we recognize that the fight against bonded labour is not a fight of just one Allah Yar, but for humanity, and human dignity. It is a fight about ensuring that no one falls into this cycle of despair, rights activist Saleem added.

Pakistan’s Forced Labour Epidemic

Approximately 2.3 million people in Pakistan were living in conditions of modern slavery in 2021, meaning an estimated 10.6 out of every thousand individuals in the country faced forced labour. This places Pakistan 18th globally and 4th within Asia and the Pacific for the prevalence of modern slavery.

In 2021, approximately 50 million people worldwide were living in conditions of modern slavery on any given day, reflecting an increase of 10 million since 2016. Pakistan, too, has experienced this significant rise, as highlighted in the Global Slavery Index 2023.

Among those enduring the harsh realities of modern slavery in Pakistan are 46-year-old Allah Rakha and his 25-year-old son, Abdul Waheed, residents of Burmawalla in Punjab’s tehsil, who are directly impacted by this growing issue.

Allah Rakha took out a loan, worth Rs60,000, seven years ago to manage an emergency situation. Although they repaid the loan within the first two years, they are now being threatened with the confiscation of their animals and goods, and possible legal action if they don’t pay the remaining amount of Rs 151,000.

Rakha says, “We took out a loan of Rs 60,000 from our brick kiln owner , Pir Rashid Fareed Qureshi,seven years ago. Our family of three has been working for them since then, with a deduction in our labour wages from 15 percent to Rs 25 percent per month. Despite this, we are now being threatened by the owner to pay the remaining loan amount of more than Rs 150,000 or face legal action and the confiscation of our animals and goods.”

Rakha, his wife, and their two children—a son and a daughter—are in hiding somewhere in Punjab, fearing retaliation from the brick kiln owner (name). They recently approached the court and were freed from forced labour through the Lahore High Court (LHC)’s local branch.

Although they have been freed from forced labour after the LHC order, execution of court order for our confiscated goods is yet to be implemented, said Rakha.

“There is no difference between the Punjab Labour Department and the brick kiln owner of Burewala. Both treat us the same, and they are in agreement to suppress our rights, perpetuating the cycle of forced labour,” said a labour rights activist Israr Ahmed*.

Ahmed*, 36, has been trapped in the forced labour industry for the past 20 years and has also been actively raising his voice for the rights of subjugated workers.

Ahmed’s sufferings are similar to Rakha’s. He recalls being only 13 years old when he had to quit his education from grade 3 and join the labour industry as the sole breadwinner for his family. Ahmed had to leave school after his father, who worked in a factory, sustained a work-related injury that never healed.

Today, not only Ahmed but his entire family of eight, including his three young children, work at a brick kiln factory in the Jahania tehsil of Khanewal. They live below the poverty line, earning just Rs. 950 per day for producing 1,000 bricks.

When asked if there is any other incentive or support they receive under labour law, Ahmed responds, “When the labour department, which is responsible for implementing the legal rights of labourers, is allegedly supporting the exploitative labour industry, how can we expect to receive our due rights? Whenever officers from the labour department visit the brick kiln, they only visit the office. They never inspect the working site, and if they do meet with us, we are called into the office, where we are unable to express our grievances or raise wage-related issues.”

It is worth mentioning that Punjab recently increased the minimum wage for labour from Rs32,000 in the past to Rs37,000, which is applicable to the brick industry as well. However, in practice, a daily wage of Rs950 equates to Rs28,500 per month for a single labourer.

Ahmed’s entire family of eight earns Rs28,500 per month, which not only exposes flaws in the labor department’s governance but also highlights violations of human and labour rights in Pakistan, potentially leading to international repercussions for the country.

“We want our children to receive education and to escape this forced labour. We are trapped, but how can we break free without government support?,” Ahmed* questioned.

“I have eight children, and three of them work with me at the brick kiln. Without their help, we cannot meet the required target of 1,000 bricks for Rs950, which is crucial to our survival,” explained Ahmed.

Price of bonded labour

The brick kiln owner charges Rs28,000 to Rs29,000 for a trolley containing 3,000 bricks in Jahnia Tehsil of Khanewal. Rakha and Ahmed are not alone; according to them, their relatives and others in the region are also trapped in the forced labour industry, bound by the burdens of loan interest.

Ahmed* says that with the support of civil society and rights activist organisations in the region, he was able to raise the wage for brick kiln workers from Rs500 to Rs1,000 per 1,000 bricks in 2018.

His efforts had repercussions, as Ahmed was removed from his job for speaking out against the oppressors. He says, “I remained jobless for more than three months because no brick kiln owner was willing to hire me after I raised my voice for our rights.”

Since then, there has been no further increase in wages for those involved in the brick industry, Ahmed* deplored.

Dr Faisal Iqbal, a labour rights activist, highlights the harsh reality of forced labour in Pakistan, describing it as a widespread practice across various sectors of the economy, especially prevalent in agriculture, which accounts for 42.6 percent of the country’s total employment, as well as in brick kilns, mining, carpet weaving, and domestic work,

“The lack of enforcement of labour laws and high levels of poverty allow for this exploitation,” Dr Faisal says.

This form of exploitation disproportionately affects marginalized communities, particularly women and children, who are further endangered by social norms and limited access to education.

It is to mention here that the annual profit from forced labour globally reaches an obscene US$236 billion approximately, reflecting wages stolen from workers by intimidating and threatening them. This money, often taken from those already struggling to support their families, deprives them of their rightful earnings.

Additional input by Faisal Saleem. 

Shazia Mehboob is a PhD scholar and a visiting faculty member. She is also a freelance journalist and the founder of The PenPK.com. You can follow her on Twitter @thepenpk.