Human bondage

“Human bondage”

BONDED labour is modern-day slavery. It exists in Pakistan as a system of generational exploitation sustained by abject poverty, debt, and feudal power. The recent praise for Pakistan from the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for raising the minimum marriageable age to 18 is, no doubt, welcome. It follows the committee’s review of Pakistan’s second periodic report. But questions about the high numbers of child brides and bonded labour eclipse the compliment. Underage…