Iqbal Masih

Former slave Iqbal Masih was shot outside his grandmother's home in 1995 for speaking out against child labor

At age four, Iqbal Masih was sold into debt bondage. In order to work off the 600 rupee ($12) loan given to his father, Iqbal tied tiny knots on a carpet loom for fourteen hours a day, six days a week.

"I had to sit in one position for many hours. I couldn't even move during work…We weren't allowed many days off. Even sick children were not allowed to rest. They also hung children upside down until they became sicker. Children were beaten…If the children fell asleep or were slow in their work, they would be punished by being beaten or starved. If we were slow we often got lashed on our backs and heads...If we tried to escape, we were threatened with being thrown in boiling oil…We were too frightened to help each other."

After six years, Iqbal was freed by the Bonded Liberation Front. He soon became an activist against child labor and helped free thousands of children. In 1995 Iqbal was shot outside of his grandmother's home in Pakistan.

-Susan Kukhin, "Iqbal Masih and the Crusaders Against Child Slavery"

Return to The Slave Experience