SOUTH ASIA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

2324Federal law provides for a maximum work-week of 48 hours (54 hours for seasonalfactories) with rest periods during the workday and paid annual holidays.These regulations do not apply to agricultural workers, workers in factories withfewer than 10 employees, and contractors. Many workers are unaware of theirrights because of their lack of education.Additional benefits required by the Federal Labor Code include official governmentholidays, overtime pay, annual and sick leave, health and safety standards inthe workplace, health care, education for workers’ children, social security, old agebenefits, and a workers welfare fund. Employees earning more than $52 (PRs 3,120)per month are not considered workers for the purpose of these benefits.The provinces have been ineffective in enforcing labor regulations because of limitedresources, corruption, and inadequate regulatory structures. In general healthand safety standards are poor. Although organized labor presses for improvements,the Government has done little and its efforts to enforce existing legal protectionare weak. Workers cannot remove themselves from dangerous working conditionswithout risking loss of employment. There is a serious lack of adherence to minesafety and health protocols. For example, mines often have only one opening forentry, egress, and ventilation.f. Trafficking in Persons.—The law prohibits the trafficking of women under age21 into the country for sexual purposes, as well as kidnaping and slavery; however,trafficking in persons, especially in women, is a significant problem. Trafficking inwomen is protected by powerful criminal interests and operates relatively openly.The Government has done little to stem the flow of women trafficked into the countryor to help victims of trafficking. For example, despite the large numbers involved,only 88 cases have been registered in Sindh between 1990 and 1999. Of the260 men and 110 women arrested, only 87 were charged and only 7 were sentenced.Pakistan is a receiving country for thousands of trafficked women every year,mainly from Bangladesh. Smaller numbers of Burmese, Sri Lankan, Indian, and Afghanwomen also are trafficked into the country and some Pakistani women weretrafficked overseas. The Commission of Inquiry for Women drew attention to theproblem of ‘‘enforced prostitution and trafficking in women,’’ noting that women arethe victims of exploitation by police and pimps, and should be treated with compassion.Trafficking in women has occurred for decades; there are likely several hundredthousand trafficked women in the country. A Karachi-based NGO estimatesthat 100 to 150 women who are trafficked into the country each day from Bangladeshare sold for domestic labor throughout the country and for forced prostitutionin Karachi. Press reports indicate that the buying and selling of brides persistsin parts of the NWFP and Punjab. Trafficking victims usually are deceived withfalse prospects of marriage or offers of legitimate jobs in Pakistan. They generallydo not have legal residency, and, if arrested, end up in jail for violation of immigrationlaws or the Hudood ordinance. Without money to pay for bail, they often arebailed out by their pimps, who force them to return to prostitution. Small numbersof escaped victims of trafficking end up in shelters, but most do not because thereare few such shelters available. Many women who are not bailed out are not repatriated;since they arrive without documentation, the Bangladesh High Commissionwill not take responsibility for them, and they remain confined to women’s shelters.Some have been repatriated at the expense of individuals who discover them andpay for their return home.Prices for trafficked women start at approximately $550 (PRs 30,000) but can goas high as approximately $5,000 (PRs 260,000). Physical beauty and educationallevel are major factors in determining prices. Some women sold in shops in Karachireportedly are sent to Persian Gulf countries, where they are slaves; women sentto rural Pakistan reportedly are de facto slaves. Buyers in such shops reportedlypurchase women for purposes of labor or sex; some are married to their buyers.There are reports that Afghan and Bangladeshi girls are trafficked into the countryfor sexual purposes.Young boys are trafficked from Pakistan to the Persian Gulf to work as cameljockeys; reports estimate that there are between several hundred and a few thousandboys between the ages of 4 and 10 working as camel jockeys, mostly in theUnited Arab Emirates (UAE). The majority of these boys are sent to the Gulf countriesby their parents, landless agricultural workers who receive a monthly sum ofmoney for their child’s labor. Parents occasionally also accompany their children tothe Persian Gulf. However, a significant minority of these children are abducted bytraffickers in the country and sent abroad without the knowledge of their parents.The conditions such children live under often are poor, and many children reportedlyare injured or maimed while racing camels. The children reportedly do not receiveproper medical care or schooling, and when they become too old to race, theyare sent back to the country and left to fend for themselves. In February the districtVerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:46 Sep 20, 2001 Jkt 071555 PO 00000 Frm 00168 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\COUNTRYR\S71555\71555.036 HINTREL1 PsN: HINTREL1