Tharparker Desert, Pakistan

(© iResist 2023 – both images and text are not to be reproduced in any circumstance)
This is the i
Resist photo gallery from field research conducted in Tharparker Desert (aka Thar) in Sindh, Pakistan. The research was conducted to understand the reasons for the high infant mortality rate – which sees around 1,500 children die annually, life of the desert dwellers stricken by hunger and malnutrition, consistent drought-like conditions and explore the possibilities of helping them come out of extremely difficult living conditions. It has the lowest  Human Development Index rating of all the districts in Sindh and  UNDP‘s  Multidimensional Poverty Index for Pakistan, which reports that 87% of population in Tharparkar live under poverty level. 

Only 47% of the Thar population has access to drinking water. Wells are crowded and their supply strained. 60% of households wait more than an hour at wells for their turn and 30% of households spend more than Rs 30 for two buckets of water. 85% of households use “akhaal” (rubber bags carried by a camel or donkey) to carry water, while the remaining 25% use buckets carried by women, children, camels or donkeys. In some areas, single journeys for water may take as long as two days. 75% of women travel an average 3 km per trip, spending 52% of their working hours fetching water for their household.
Author – Aisha Ghazi (Founder – iResist)