Rights groups decried job postings in Pakistan that allegedly discriminate against minority Christians.
The job advertisements, which offer vacancies for sanitation positions, have been published in the country’s newspapers.
“Government-sponsored discrimination is usually witnessed in such advertisements throughout Pakistan,” said Ayesha Younas, a human rights activist.
In a report, human rights group International Christian Concern cited several advertisements calling for job applicants for “sweepers” that were reserved for members of the minority community.
While other open positions were advertised, only the “sweepers” positions were specifically reserved for minorities, noted the report.
Similar discriminatory advertisements were reported in the past.
For instance, an advertisement from the Department of Mines and Minerals in the Sargodha District of Punjab offered 21 vacant positions, including four positions for sanitary workers reserved for minorities.
“This has been the policy for decades despite protests from religious minorities,” said Younas. “This must be revised,” he said.
Widespread discrimination often relegates Pakistani Christians to the lowest rungs of society, noted the International Christian Concern.
Discriminatory hiring practices, that see Christians overrepresented in the lowest positions of the workforce, only reinforces the low social status of Pakistani Christians, it said.
Christians make up to 90 percent of the sanitation workforce, including the country’s street sweepers, janitors, and sewer workers. Pakistani Christians comprise of only two percent of the country’s population.
