'Bonded by Brick': The Reality of Modern-Day Slavery in Pakistan

Around 20,000 brick kilns, 3.5-4 million bonded laborers, and one activist working for their freedom.

Bonded by Brick is a three-part human interest documentary series by The Centrum Media (TCM), uncovering Pakistan’s pressing social ill of modern slavery. Syeda Ghulam Fatima, also known as a modern-day Harriet Tubman, has devoted her life to ending bonded labor across the country. She has been shot, electrocuted, and beaten numerous times because of her activism, but nothing stopped her from fighting for the freedom of millions of people who are working as modern-day slaves, mostly in brick kilns.

Covering the stories of the hopes and dreams of brick kiln workers, the documentary series focuses on the administrative and legal structures, why modern slavery is still a part of Pakistan’s rural system, and the threats that human rights activists face while working to eliminate this curse.