As the world prepares to shower mothers with flowers, gifts, and words of love this Mother’s Day, thousands of resilient women in Karachi’s sprawling informal settlements will wake up to another ordinary day—marked by unpaid labor, unsafe pregnancies, water shortages, and dreams deferred.
In Karachi’s katchi abadis—like Essa Nagri, Soba Nagar, Orangi Town, Machar Colony, and Lyari—being a mother means far more than bearing children. It means being the first to rise and the last to sleep. It means cooking, cleaning, fetching water, caring for the sick, sewing for extra income, and doing it all in a system that often forgets they exist.
The Hidden Hardships of Motherhood
These mothers are warriors in silence. They live in settlements where sanitation is poor, water is scarce, and health services are a luxury. And yet, they nurture and protect with fierce determination.
Zahida, a mother of five in Welfare Colony, still mourns the baby she lost during childbirth. “The midwife came too late. There was no ambulance. No clinic nearby. Just me and God.” Her words are echoed in hundreds of households across the city’s slums, where maternal and child mortality remain unacceptably high due to poor access to prenatal care, malnutrition, and lack of trained medical support.
Skilled but Stranded
These women are not helpless—they are skilled. Many know how to sew, embroider, cook, or even make handicrafts. But they lack the resources, space, and market connections to turn their talents into income.
Razia, a single mother in Soba Nagar, shares: “I can stitch clothes, but I don’t have a machine. Even if I stitch by hand, who will give me cloth or pay in advance?” The absence of micro-loan opportunities, skill-building programs, and cooperative networks leaves these women stranded in cycles of poverty.
Toilets Exist—but the System Fails
While public and donor-led projects have built community toilets in some katchi abadis, maintenance is lacking. Many women still wait until dark to relieve themselves, risking safety and infection. With poor drainage, broken sewer lines, and open garbage dumps, these settlements pose a daily risk to the health of mothers and children alike.
“When it rains, the dirty water floods our streets,” says Shamim, a grandmother in Orangi. “We can’t even walk to the toilet without stepping through filth. My daughter-in-law just had a baby and got an infection.”
Home Is Not Always Safe
For many women, even their homes are not safe havens. Domestic violence, verbal abuse, and financial control are common realities. Due to social stigma, lack of support services, and limited awareness of legal rights, most women suffer in silence. Their pain rarely reaches the surface, but it festers in the form of stress, depression, and isolation.
The Light of Social Mobilization
Amid all this, there is a spark of hope: social mobilization. When mothers come together—through WASH clubs, self-help groups, community-based organizations—they begin to realize their strength.
Social mobilizers, often women from within the community, play a vital role in connecting mothers to services, rights, and each other. They conduct awareness sessions, encourage prenatal checkups, promote hygiene, and form support networks.
Saina Ali, a gender specialist working in low-income settlements, puts it best:
“When we mobilize women, they become leaders in their homes and communities. They don’t just ask for change—they start to make it happen.”
What Needs to Change—Beyond Just One Day
If we truly want to honor mothers in Pakistan this Mother’s Day, let’s move beyond words and take action:
- Mobile Maternal Health Units
Deploy community-based maternal health services—midwives, ambulances, and nutrition support—to reduce maternal mortality.2. Microfinance for Skilled Women
Provide interest-free micro-loans and materials (e.g., sewing machines, cloth, kitchen equipment) to help mothers turn skills into livelihoods.3. Upgrade and Sustain Sanitation Facilities
Maintain community toilets, ensure water availability, and improve solid waste management to protect women’s health.4. Establish Women’s Empowerment Centers
Safe spaces where women can access legal aid, counseling, skill development, and protection from domestic abuse.5. Strengthen Social Mobilization for Women’s Empowerment
Expand and support community mobilization efforts so women can organize, advocate, and transform their circumstances collectively.
Every Mother Deserves More
The mothers of Karachi’s katchi abadis don’t ask for sympathy. They ask for systems that work, environments that are safe, opportunities that are fair, and lives where their sacrifices are honored with dignity—not just on Mother’s Day, but every day.
Let us not just celebrate motherhood with sentiment. Let us commit to justice, access, and equity. Because no mother should have to choose between survival and care, or between love and basic rights.
