Manu Bheel
Manu Bheel (Urdu : منو بھیل ) (born 1954) was bonded laborer and human rights activist. Nine of his family members were abducted in 1998.[1] He advocates for the rights of marginalized communities and bonded laborers in Pakistan. [2] Personal lifeManu Bheel was born to a poor Hindu Scheduled Caste agricultural laborer's family in the Tharparkar region of Sindh, Pakistan.[3] He, along with his family, was bonded to a landlord in Sanghar District before being freed through the intervention of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and community leaders [4] StruggleAfter being freed from bonded labor in Sindh in 1996 through the intervention of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP),[5] Manu Bheel became involved in activism, focusing on the rights of marginalized communities. His advocacy efforts took a more personal turn in 1998,[6] when his family was kidnapped, an incident he attributed to his former landlord.[7] In 2003, Manu began a hunger strike outside the Hyderabad Press Club,[8] aiming to draw attention to the disappearance of his family and the wider issue of bonded labour.[9] His protests gained national and international attention, including appeals from organizations such as Anti-Slavery International.[10] List of kidnapped family membersThe names and ages of the kidnapped family members of Manu Bheel, as claimed by him on February 4, 1998:[11]
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