Surrounded by dozens of goats in the shape of a herd, Tari a widow in her mid-forties came to her hovel amid a noisy bleating of goats in a scorching heat. Living in the Tharparkar desert, Pakistan where the life has been much harder due to regular droughts hitting every year. Her colorful traditional attires, with the arms full of white bangles all around from wrist to shoulder, depicts the old culture of the desert adopted since ages and still followed.

 

In the searing heat she was also pulling her 3 years old boy who was walking bare-footed all along the hot sand of the desert, licking an edible red berry — his meal for the day.

 

 

Tari’s neighbors were engaged in preparing hut to escape from the scorching heat for approaching summer, seemingly unaffected by the spoiling hot weather. The summer was approaching and drought is imminent.

 

Three years ago, Tari’s became widow on a hot day like this. Her husband committed suicide because of escalating financial debts. The intense drought, deaths of many children and several reported suicide cases since 2012 are among the causes of increasing migration trends. However, she has decided to stay in her village. Now she lives in a single-room hut in Baharo Bheel village.

 

 

Women of the Thar desert, walking outside with pitchers perched on their heads is a synthesis of beauty and hardship. They used to fetch water by walking 3-4 kms. Sometimes they walk even more.

 

The characteristic armfuls of bangles worn by the women. Their length indicates the marital status of the woman. If the bangles are worn on the arms, that woman is single. When it’s worn all the way to the upper arms that means she’s married.

 

Agriculture and livestock are the two main sources of food security and source of income. But due to changing climate the crops production has been badly affected as they rely on rainfall which has been reportedly going to be rare and rare, creating drought and famines over the years.

 

Tari, is among half million labors and farmers working in the Tharparkar desert, “I have been working here since two decades and seen many catastrophes before and live on with numerous hardships and haven’t migrated”, “My love for this desert is never ending- where I was born and raised and later married and lived. Despite the unfavorable weather and food shortage, meanwhile many of my animals died but still I want to stay here”. Tari said.

 

Thousands of children die due to malnutrition in the Tharparkar desert. The situation epitomizes a wider looming food shortage crisis. According to various reports, the South Asian countries are more prone to food insecurity due to pervasive impacts of climate change in this region.