Before CSI cleared the family’s debts, Ashraf Masih was one of millions who worked in Pakistan’s brick kilns. csi
In Pakistan’s roughly 20,000 brick kilns, millions of people work as modern slaves. Families borrow money in crisis – such as for medical emergencies – and find themselves trapped forever, working to repay debts while making wages too low to survive. The children then inherit the debt and spend their lives making bricks instead of going to school, entering a cycle with no escape.
This practice has become pervasive, despite being illegal under Pakistani law. But one of CSI’s partners in Pakistan is taking the issue to court to demand change.
The legal case
CSI partner Shehryar Anjum has launched a formal petition to enforce existing laws that should protect these workers. The writ petition, filed by attorney Lazar Allah Rakha at the Lahore High Court Bahawalpur Bench, is certified as the first of its kind on this issue and represents a historic legal challenge to one of the world’s largest systems of modern slavery.
The petition invokes Article 9 of Pakistan’s constitution, which guarantees the right to life, and Article 199, which allows courts to enforce fundamental rights.
The legal challenge specifically addresses Punjab province, demanding that courts order the government to provide basic welfare for brick kiln workers, enroll workers in Pakistan’s pension system as the law requires, ensure workers get fair wages and basic living conditions, and take action against employers who exploit workers.
How the system works
After families borrow money from a creditor for emergencies like medical bills, they are then required to work to repay the debt. Working in brick kilns, the wages are so low they can barely survive, much less pay back the debt. Because children inherit their parents’ debt, they have no opportunity to escape slavery either.
The conditions for brick kiln workers are harsh. Families work barefoot in temperatures over 46 degrees Celsius, breathing toxic fumes and brick dust all day. Many develop lung diseases or go blind. Children can’t go to school. Families live without clean water or toilets and are often banned from attending church.
Many workers are Christians who face pressure to convert to Islam. Brick kiln owners sometimes offer to cancel debts in exchange for the families abandoning their faith.
How CSI helps
Christian Solidarity International has been working for years to free families from this system. In 2023, CSI paid off debts for 30 families and helped them become financially independent.
Earlier this year, CSI freed widow Rehana and her four children from brick kiln bondage. When CSI-Switzerland’s executive director, Simon Brechbühl, visited her in March 2025, he found their life had significantly improved. At the brick kiln, Rehana’s family had no rights and couldn’t even leave the grounds. After her husband died, there was no hope of ever paying off their debt. Her children worked instead of going to school and were not even permitted to attend church.
After clearing their debts, CSI provided the family with a rickshaw so they could earn an income. While their life remains modest, Rehana says, “it is a life in freedom.”
The difference between law and reality
Pakistan banned forced labor in 1988, but the law means nothing without enforcement. This legal challenge reminds the government to take its obligations seriously and ensure the respect of existing laws.
Anjum’s petition represents hope for families currently living in a system of severe exploitation. If successful, it could end one of the largest systems of modern slavery in the world today and set millions free.
