The Great Shame: Child Trafficking In Pakistan

The trail runs from Pakistan, to Iran, and then to elsewhere in the Middle East, and Europe. It is a trail of tears and sorrow, where thousands, maybe tens of thousands of children and women are transported, exploited, and offered-up like commodities for traffickers and employment agents each year.

In some cases they are simply abducted, and in other cases they are lured by a ruse that promises lucrative jobs outside of Pakistan.

One might wonder why a family would willingly place one of their loved ones in the hands of strangers. Yet in a society, like Pakistan, that is so desperate, so poor, and with such limited opportunities (especially for women), the allure of a possible better life is sometimes too tempting of an offer to refuse. And then the unthinkable happens to these women and children. They are thrust into a world where their very lives become a product, to be bought and sold like fish or produce in an open market.

According to the U.S. Department of State, “Pakistan is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking.” These, mostly women and children, are catapulted into a world filled with misery and shame. They are forced to work long hours harvesting fields, firing bricks in a white hot kiln, or placed into an organized begging ring, and even worse, made to work as prostitutes.

Pakistan is one of the worst countries in the world when it comes to enforcing human trafficking laws. According to the United Nations, Pakistan, despite claiming they are making a concerted effort to curtail human trafficking, remain a Tier-2 offender. In some Pakistani provinces, like Sindh and Punjab, forced or “bonded” labor has become a cottage industry. The bonded labor system, where a debts are assumed by workers as a condition of their employment, are used to exploit adult female and child workers, while at the same time ensnare other family members in huge amounts of debt. This debt is sometimes carried on for generations. In Pakistan, failure to pay off private debt is not only financially, but legally punishable.

Many of these employers and employment agents, either use their political affiliations or their positions as government employees to evade investigation and prosecution. Some of these employment agents are part of, or are controlled by, “powerful gangs of organised criminals [and] are trafficking hundreds of women and children from different parts of the country [Pakistan],” according to a 2016 article by The Express Tribune. And according to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), 8% of the children smuggled through Iran to other locations are between the ages of 8-12 years old. Adult women tend to be in their 30s and 40s.

As reported by the Asian Legal Resource Centre in 2016, “Women in Pakistan are most vulnerable to trafficking due to poverty, gender discrimination, lack of education, and ignorance of legal rights.” Women and girls have a higher probability of being willfully entered into bonded labor, since Pakistani culture often sees women as inferior, and in turn their families tend to view female children as more of a financial burden than male children. As detailed in a 2013 by the UN’s Drug and Crime Global Report on the Trafficking of Persons, 55-60% of victims tend to be women. And in some cases, should these women and girls be returned to Pakistan, their forced prostitution is often considered “adulterous” behavior by Islamic courts.  Some receive stiff punishments or even prison sentences. As reported by the Asian Resource Centre, they are essentially “revictimized by the judicial processes,” in Pakistan.

Boys whom are entered into bonded labor systems are often put to work, enduring harsh conditions, in industries like agriculture, brick and carpet making, and as “apprentices” to bus drivers. However, it is very common for a boy to have a second job at night as a prostitutes for male clients. Young boys are often seen out in the open around bus stations, cab stands,  hotels, and truck stops. Many of these children are required to engage in these horrific practices by their employers, often in full-view of the police whom are bribed to keep silent or to ignore the problem entirely.

This bonded labor system also has connections to terrorism. It is becoming more and more common for children from Pakistani employment agents, to be sold to militant Islamic groups like the Taliban to be used as spies in areas like Afghanistan. Groups like the Taliban are fully aware that U.S. and NATO soldiers will not consider children as big a threat as adults, thereby making them more effective spies and intelligence gatherers. Some of these children wind up in European nations, and placed in predominantly Muslim neighborhoods to become part of large-scale begging rings.

Even when caught, many of the traffickers receive penalties, like monetaries fines, that can only be defined as a slap on the wrist. Some offenders escape any penalties at all, monetary or otherwise. In fact, in Pakistani courts, according the U.S. Department of State, victims are often punished far more harshly than the traffickers. According to the FIA, “Pakistani law enforcers were not making sincere efforts to curb human trafficking due to shrinking job opportunities in the country.” The Asian Legal Resource Centre goes even further to suggests, “Due to a lack of political will, Pakistan is yet to sign and ratify the trafficking protocol to prevent, suppress, and punish trafficking.”

Whether by a lack of political will, impoverished conditions, or general disregard for international law, it is evident that the Pakistani government is not up to the task of curtailing the problem. Bonded labor and human trafficking continue to be extensive and ongoing problems throughout the country and has received little, if any, public condemnation by many UN Security Council Members. The United States Department of State appears to be taking up much of the fight that so many others in the international community are refusing to, yet it will take many other nations to lend input and participation into crackdown on this heinous practice, and put notable and considerable pressure on Pakistan to comply with international human trafficking laws.