Around 5 a.m. on May 7, Shabbir Masih, a 33-year-old Christian sanitation worker in Pakistan, died after inhaling toxic gases while doing a dangerous job his supervisors forced him to do.

Masih died working inside a 25-foot-deep mainline sewer operated by the Water and Sanitation Authority (WASA). According to his widow, Masih was fully aware of the danger posed by the work. He refused to descend into the sewer for three consecutive days. On the final night, WASA officials arrived at his home at 10 p.m. and took him away.

“He knew it was a death trap,” his widow said. “He was very worried for the last three days and told me they were threatening him to go deep into that sewer.” 

Masih was sent into the sewer with another Christian worker named Sanwal. Both descended into five feet of sewage water. Due to the hazardous, toxic gases their bodies absorbed, Masih died inside the sewer, and Sanwal fell critically ill. Sanwal was rushed to the hospital immediately. Masih’s body, however, was pulled out and left on the road. WASA told Shabbir’s family to take his body away, signaling that it was not their responsibility to deal with it. Sanwal quickly recovered and was released the next day.

Masih’s widow is demanding justice for her husband, saying WASA forced him to work in the sewer against his will. WASA has refused accountability in Masih’s death, claiming he was hired as a contractor, a deliberate outsourcing arrangement designed to avoid responsibility. 

Masih is not the first Christian to die as a result of this pattern of systemic discrimination.

The Christian community, which lives below the poverty line, constitutes a large portion of this workforce. While Christians comprise less than 2% of Pakistan’s population, they work 80% of sanitation jobs. These workers are given no proper training or protective equipment to carry out their tasks. They are sent into deep sewers without any safety measures, and if they refuse, they are threatened with job loss. 

Christian workers are deliberately assigned to the most dangerous, undesirable jobs. According to the Center for Legal Justice (CLJ), from 2011 to 2023, at least 40 Christians lost their lives in manholes due to a lack of proper training and safety equipment. Workers often don’t refuse dangerous assignments, even when they know it may cost them their lives, because sudden job termination is a risk they cannot afford. Most are the sole providers for their families. 

In Pakistan, sanitation work falls into two categories: dry and wet. Dry sanitation work primarily involves sweeping and handling solid waste. Wet work involves handling human waste and sewage, which can be hazardous and sometimes fatal through exposure to toxic gases or drowning in sewerage systems. Pakistan’s sanitation system largely relies on manual labor. 

Sanitation work in Pakistan can be permanent, contract, or day labor. However, during the past few decades, government bodies have largely avoided permanent hiring, instead taking on workers through contract or daily wages to sidestep health insurance and accountability for deaths like Masih’s. 

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