New facilities for Chitral community enhance safety and gender justice

Islamic Relief has been tackling gender injustice with a bathroom building scheme in a remote area of Pakistan.

In the Himalayan Bamburat Valley, in the northern district of Chitral, the Kalash indigenous group is Pakistan’s smallest religious minority, with a community of less than 5,000.

Last year, when Chitral was hit by recurring disasters (first floods, then an earthquake) homes and other infrastructure were destroyed, including washing facilities, leaving women and girls vulnerable and without shelter.

With support from UNICEF, Islamic Relief implemented a project to repair, replace and upgrade the damaged bathrooms, giving more than 500 women access to water, sanitation and hygiene facilities.

Local teams also rolled out an interactive communication campaign emphasizing the risks girls and women are exposed to when relieving themselves outside or traveling long distances to fetch water.

The programme is part of Islamic Relief’s work to provide women-focused solutions to accelerate gender equality.