ICC Note: Aneeqa Anthony, a Pakistani human rights lawyer presented a painted brick to Pope Francis to symbolize the Christians who are forced to work in brick factories under difficult conditions. The brick was painted by the children of a Christian couple, Shama Bibi and Shahzad Masih, who had been burned alive in a brick kiln on November 2014 after radical Muslims falsely accused them of blaspheming Islam. In Pakistan, Christians are often treated as second-class citizens because they do not conform to Islam. As a result, Christians are usually relegated to the least enviable jobs, working under slave-like conditions.

7/16/2016 Pakistan (Pakistan Christian Post) The Pakistani human rights lawyer Aneeqa Anthony brought a painted brick to the general audience with Pope Francis on June 22, 2016, symbolizing the numerous Christians enslaved in brick factories in Pakistan. The International Society for Human Rights in Germany supported Anthony in doing so, with the aim of paving the way to equality for minorities.

One such obstacle includes the blasphemy laws. This “stumbling block” (the brick pictured) was designed by the three children of the Christian couple Shama Bibi (26) and Shahzad Masih (28) who were severely beaten and burned alive in a brick kiln by a mob in November of 2014. Anthony is representing the children in court.

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