Crushed dreams: ‘I don’t like herding but what else am I supposed to do?’

Seven-year-old Zahida Shar denied primary education due to lack of facilities in her village

SUKKUR: Clad in orange shalwar kameez, seven-year-old Zahida Shar stands in the middle of a field with a wooden stick in her hand as she herds goats. "I don't like looking after the goats all day but what else am I supposed to do?" asks the child.

Situated in the outskirts of Sindh's third biggest city, Sukkur, Guhram Shar Ji Wandh village lacks even the most basic facilities such as gas, education and health. The children born in the village end up either as peasants or herdsmen due to the lack of opportunities available to them.



Such is the story of Zahida, who has become an expert at taking care of a big herd of goats. After eating breakfast, she herds her goats to a nearby agricultural field to graze and stays there till evening.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Zahida expressed her desire to go to school but said she was not able to pursue her dream as there is not a single primary school in her village.

The closest school is located in Deha village, which is on the other side of the main Sukkur-Shikarpur Road. The road is clogged with heavy traffic round the clock, therefore the people of Guhram Shar Ji Wandh village are reluctant to send their children there. "It is very difficult for the children to cross the busy road," explained Zahida's uncle, Riaz Shar.

The simple life

The life of the adults of the village also revolves around pasturing, herding and working on agricultural land.

Zahida said that her mother, along with the other women of the village, works on the agricultural fields while also taking care of her household.



My mother and aunts milk goats, cows and buffaloes, while my father and uncles sell the milk to hotels and households in Sukkur, said the youngster. "Sometimes I also milk goats and drink their milk directly as it tastes very good," she said.

Many other girls her age help their mothers create rallies (patchwork embroidery quilts), she claimed. "[But] I don't like sitting at home all day stitching little pieces of cloth together. I like to be in open air instead," she said.

Speaking about life in their village, Zahida's father Mehar Shar said that the animals belong to other people. "We are just taking care of them and selling their milk on 50% partnership," he explained.

Left neglected

"We don't have any civic facilities except for electricity," lamented Riaz. "We have demanded the construction of a primary school and mosque time and again but nothing has been done," he said.

Pakistan Peoples Party MPA Haji Ali Anwar Mahar's Tamachani village is not far from our village but, despite our repeated demands, no school has been established in our village, pointed out Mehar.

"After 10 years of hue and cry, construction of the road to the village has started and it seems that it was initiated because of the upcoming general elections," he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 26^th, 2016.