Issue
An estimated half a million women working as cotton pickers in Sindh province face harsh conditions, including lack of access to social protection schemes, unsafe environments, and exploitation. They lack awareness of their rights and are vulnerable to worsening climate impacts.
How we are helping
This project aims to empower women cotton pickers to negotiate better working conditions through improved rights awareness and climate education. It will strengthen trade unions and facilitate engagement with policy-makers and industry stakeholders.
About the project
Women cotton pickers in Sindh province experience difficult working conditions, worsened by climate change. Rising temperatures (up to 48°C) and erratic rainfall expose them to health risks such as heatstroke and pesticide-related illnesses. Flooding disrupts livelihoods, leading to severe economic shocks. Despite legal protections under the Sindh Women’s Agricultural Workers’ Act 2019, these workers often face barriers to fair wages, safe working conditions and other basic rights.
Project partners, Sindh Community Foundation, will combine literacy, rights advocacy, and climate education to empower women to advocate for systemic change. The project will foster collaboration among trade unions, government departments, and industry stakeholders to advance women’s labour rights and climate resilience.
This will be achieved by:
- Conducting rights awareness workshops for 600 women trade union members.
- Delivering a six-month literacy and numeracy training programme to 350 women.
- Strengthening 20 trade unions with management and leadership training for women leaders.
- Equipping trade union leaders with skills to engage in dialogue with the government to enhance protection against climate change impacts.
- Training 40 trade union leaders on the links between climate change and health, and on adaptation skills from a health and occupational safety perspective.
- Organising two women’s assemblies on climate justice, decent work and health and occupational safety.
- Facilitating engagement with labour, climate and social protection authorities, cotton industry stakeholders, and labour rights organisations.
As a result of the project, it is hoped that women cotton pickers will be better placed to negotiate fairer wages and safer working conditions, reducing their socio-economic and climate vulnerability. Policy-makers and industry stakeholders will be engaged to improve enforcement of the Sindh Women’s Agricultural Workers’ Act and promote sustainable working practices. Climate education will equip women to adapt to future challenges, fostering resilience and justice for Sindh’s vulnerable women cotton pickers.
Project Partners
Sindh Community Foundation (SCF) promotes social activism in rural areas in Sindh, Pakistan, among youth, rural communities, and women and girls. They help these groups take collective actions for social development, harmony and integration and improve their access to productive resources and opportunities, so that they can exercise their rights to combat poverty and injustices. Their areas of work include youth development, disaster management, risk reduction, environmental justice, climate change, human rights, and good governance. SCF was awarded with the Gender Just Climate Solution Award by UNCTN and Women Engage for Common Future -WECF at COP27.
We support people's participation in democracy and development by providing grants, platforms, and expertise.
