Pakistani university refuses prosperous work to Christians Christians offered only menial jobs despite legal efforts to eradicate discrimination A public university in Pakistan defies court orders and misleads government authorities to avoid giving federally approved jobs to non-Muslims, a Christian politician in the nation’s ruling party says. In May 2009 the Federal government passed a law requiring 5% of jobs to be allocated to religious minorities. The University of Sargodha (located in the Punjab province, where most of the country’s Christians reside) has hired hundreds of employees since this legislation was implemented in Punjab in 2010, but continues to use bureaucratic tactics to avoid hiring non-Muslims, according to Chaudhry Mustaq Gill, a Christian political leader in the Pakistan Muslim League (N). The legislation was created to protect religious minorities and minimise injustice for people applying for government jobs, but state officials are the main hurdle to its implementation. The legislation was initiated by Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian MP who was assassinated three years ago. He had been a prominent figure in the support of Asia Bibi (a Christian woman sentenced to death for allegedly insulting the Prophet Mohammed) and for seeking amendments to Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. Pakistan is an Islamic state with 95-98% of the population practicing Islam, while the remainder of the population primarily practices other religions such as Hinduism, Christianity and Sikhism. Chaudhry Mushtaq Gill filed a case against the university through the Punjab government ombudsman in September 2012. The university lost the case and the ombudsman decreed the following in May 2013: “The University of Sargodha had various advertisements for recruitment after March 2010 without prescribing [the] 5% quota for the minorities, which violates the provisions of policy instructions ... Maladministration of the Agency is established.” According to Gill, nearly one year has passed since this was ordered and the university has not rectified its wrongdoing. The record provided by the university to the ombudsman verifies that 102 of 111 Christians hired since 2010 are working as street sweepers The nine remaining Christians are primarily working as clerks and gardeners, with one working as a storekeeper and the other as a laboratory attendant. The occupation of street sweeping is traditionally considered menial and degrading under the Indian caste system; hence, only “untouchables” are given jobs in this category. “Untouchability” is a social-religious practice rooted in the Indian caste system that ostracizes minority groups by segregating them from the majority of society. Pakistani Muslims still observe the caste system due to having lived in close proximity with Hindus for hundreds of years. Christians are mostly considered to come from the untouchable class, so they are expected to work in menial jobs like those of street sweeping in both the public and private sectors. Speaking to World Watch Monitor, Gill said the affirmative action by the government was being rendered meaningless. “During the proceedings before the ombudsman, the university officials stated that the quota does not apply to high-ranking jobs like that of teaching, but the notification clearly states that it applies to all posts across the board.” Gill further added that the University of Sargodha was not the only university ignoring the minorities quota. “There are dozens of other universities. I am seeking the same directions from the Punjab government ombudsman [regarding these] and some have agreed to implement the quota as well,” he said.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 21:16:26 +0000
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