11/05/2019 Pakistan (International Christian Concern) – King Edward’s Medical University in Pakistan has recently published a discriminatory job advertisement for its new campus located in the Sheikhupura district. According to the published advertisement, the medical university has six open job posts that will be filled by the suitable candidates. However, the advertisement goes on to state that only non-Muslims will be considered for the sanitation work.
Advertisements of a similar nature are quite common in Pakistan and reinforce a discriminatory attitude against the country’s religious minority communities, especially Christians. Due to wide spread discrimination, Pakistani Christians are often relegated to the lowest sections of Pakistan’s society. This includes Pakistan’s workforce.
Article 27 Pakistan’s constitution provides safeguards against discrimination in services or employment. However, successive governments have blatantly defied this article by selectively recruiting Christians as sweepers and sewer workers.
According to a study done by Open Doors USA, 80% of the Punjab provinces sanitation workforce identify as Christian. This is an extreme over-representation when one considers Christians only make up 1.6% of Pakistan’s overall population.
Christian leaders, civil society organizations, and the international community have protested against these discriminatory practices. However, as the recent job advertisement by King Edward’s Medical University shows, little has changed.
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