The majority of Christians in Pakistan are living and working in appalling conditions. According to a report submitted to the United Nations by the international non-profit organization International Support for Human Rights, Christians make up just 1.37% of Pakistan’s total population — that is, slightly more than 3.5 million people. This makes it all the more shocking that they account for 80% of the country’s sewer cleaning workforce, where they routinely work without protective suits, masks, or any other safety equipment.
Pakistan: 16 deaths from asphyxiation since April alone
The report states that since April 2026, 16 workers have died from asphyxiation caused by inhaling toxic gases, while dozens more deaths have been recorded for the same reason in recent years. Since 1988, the total number of Christian sewer workers who have lost their lives is estimated at 70. Nearly three in four workers (78.6%) have never been provided with protective equipment, while 57.1% have sustained injuries on the job. A separate study found that 14% of workers have witnessed a colleague die in the nightmarish conditions of the sewers.
Some 77% of workers have paid their medical expenses out of their own pockets, and a great many have reported serious illnesses, including typhoid fever and hepatitis. All of this for poverty-level wages of between 18,000 and 25,000 Pakistani rupees per month — the equivalent of just €57 to €79. This grim reality is set in motion from the very moment workers respond to job advertisements. Both government bodies and local municipalities publish listings explicitly stating that sewer cleaning work is reserved exclusively for non-Muslims and individuals from lower castes.
Local authorities also offer 89-day contracts as a deliberate strategy to avoid granting workers permanent status, pension rights, or any other employment entitlements. Workers who dare to request protective equipment are dismissed. Against this backdrop, 55% of workers say that their religious identity was the sole reason they were forced into this line of work, while 44% report experiencing daily discrimination because of the job they perform.
The report, which draws on data from Amnesty International and Pakistan’s National Commission for Human Rights, urges the United Nations to take urgent action on the matter. It also calls for the deployment of special rapporteurs to Pakistan, as well as the criminal prosecution of municipal authorities and contractors on charges of culpable homicide.
