Pakistani health authorities are having a tough time employing female mortuary attendants after bereaved families have complained about male staff handling their dead female relatives.

However, health authorities in Karachi say there is no straightforward solution, as women do not want to work in hospital morgues.

"We've tried employing female attendants to work in the mortuaries but they don't want to handle dead bodies," says city health secretary Naushad Shaikh.

Pakistan is a mostly mainly Muslim and conservative society. Women do not want to work in mortuaries due to low salaries and little opportunity for promotion. "We have a set pay structure for this position which offers 4,000 to 5,000 rupees a month," says Shaikh.