Kiln Factory

Kiln Factory
Originally uploaded by Ameer Hamza

Kiln worker takes a rest as his fellow workers continue to construct yet another brick tower, as it is known among them.

Kiln work is dangerous, tiring and earns only a pittance to hundreds of workers working there. Some of these workers are bonded labour, out here since last many decades and paying off the circular debt in which their masters have tricked them into. Despite much hard work done by Human Rights Organizations of Pakistan, many still remain bonded including women and children. Women are periodically raped, kept in chains and sometimes even murdered to avoid later legal hassles. These labourers often find no way out to protect their sisters and wives; only sometimes someone runs away into the safe hands of HR offices. Then only media gets to know the tragedies of these people.

As this kiln labour camp looked very legal, I found little resistance in photographing these men. But as the kiln owners still do not follow the mandated Rs.6000 per month, which is the minimum required pay for any type of labour in Pakistan, they still avoid cameras.