Wakhi « Simerg – Insights from Around the World

Introduced by MALIK MERCHANT

BBC’s special news article dated November 25, 2023, is about Pakistan’s Wakhi shepherdesses in Shimshal who have, over many generations, taken their flocks annually to high pastures, where they prepare dairy products to barter while their animals graze during the warmer season. The income they generated has been pivotal in transforming their community, helping to pay for healthcare, education, and the first road out of their valley.

However, the BBC’s article that includes stunning photos and a short film, does not provide any cultural information about the Wakhi people, and those who live in the Shimshal valley.

According to Wikipedia, “The Wakhi predominantly adhere to Nizari Ismaili Shia Islam, which is regarded as their ethnic religion and are followers of the Aga Khan.”

In 2012, Simerg published a special 3-part series entitled Remarkable Tales of Ismaili Women of Shimshal. The articles for the series were excerpted from “Women of Shimshal” with the permission of the book’s author, Pam Henson, a New Zealand educator and trekker, who visited the region 4 times. Pam dedicated her 2010 book “to the women of Shimshal village who have hosted me, treated me as one of the family, and shared the riches of their lives with me.”

*The cover page of “Women of Shimshal” by Pam Henson. Simerg’s special series on Remarkable Tales of Ismaili Women was excerpted from Pam’s book.*

We invite you to read Simerg’s fascinating series as a prelude to the BBC article. The special short film that is included in BBC news was produced by Farhat Javed. It features Afroze-Numa, one of Shimshal’s last shepherdesses; she has been profiled with other women from around the world in BBC’s 100 Women List.

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SHIMSHAL IN BRIEF

Shimshal is a remote Ismaili village which lies at an altitude of 3,100 metres above sea level, and is the highest settlement in the Hunza Valley of Pakistan. It is surrounded by innumerable, fascinating and awe-inspiring peaks, glaciers, alpine meadow and trekking routes. It is the bordering village that connects Gilgit-Baltistan province of Pakistan with China. The village of about 2000 devout Ismailis was inaccessible by road until October 2003, when a new road from the Karakoram Highway at Passu was constructed with the mutual cooperation of the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme, the Government of Pakistan and the local community. — Simerg’s special series on Remarkable Tales of Ismaili Women of Shimshal