A Weak Thing: Iqbal Masih and the History of Child Labour in Pakistan

The story of Iqbal Masih is intricately linked to the history of child labour and enslavement in Pakistan. Any history of the exploitation of children for labour in Pakistan is incomplete without studying the short life of Iqbal Masih, a person who has become the face of political activism against the practice of child labour in the country. Iqbal Masih was born into a Christian family in 1983 in Muridke, a city close to Lahore. Given the poverty of his family, he was put to work at the age of four to pay off mounting debts. He was sold to a local carpet weaver in return for $12 where he worked every day from dawn to dark in the hopes of paying off the debt. Like other children there, he was tied to a carpet loom with chains to prevent his escape. At the age of ten, he managed to escape the factory where he was held. With the help of the Bonded Labour Liberation Front (BLLF), a local NGO working to free children from bonded labour, who took him in and sheltered him, he enrolled in...Show moreThe story of Iqbal Masih is intricately linked to the history of child labour and enslavement in Pakistan. Any history of the exploitation of children for labour in Pakistan is incomplete without studying the short life of Iqbal Masih, a person who has become the face of political activism against the practice of child labour in the country. Iqbal Masih was born into a Christian family in 1983 in Muridke, a city close to Lahore. Given the poverty of his family, he was put to work at the age of four to pay off mounting debts. He was sold to a local carpet weaver in return for $12 where he worked every day from dawn to dark in the hopes of paying off the debt. Like other children there, he was tied to a carpet loom with chains to prevent his escape. At the age of ten, he managed to escape the factory where he was held. With the help of the Bonded Labour Liberation Front (BLLF), a local NGO working to free children from bonded labour, who took him in and sheltered him, he enrolled in school to pursue his studies despite the physical and mental breakdown he had suffered during the years of abuse. Whilst studying, he helped in the release of about 3,000 other children from bonded labour, and travelled the world raising awareness about the problem. He hoped to become a human rights lawyer in order to better be able to fight bonded labour in Pakistan. But his life was tragically cut short on Easter day, 16 April 1995 by a gunman whilst he was visiting relatives in Muridke. His legacy remains and he has been a source of inspiration for many fighting against child and bonded labour in Pakistan and the rest of the developing world. During the 1990s there was a worldwide movement for the eradication of the worst forms of child labour with countries moving from complete denial of the problem and abject lethargy in trying to curb it towards legislation and positive action.Show less

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A Weak Thing: Iqbal Masih and the History of Child Labour in Pakistan