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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Zofeen T Ebrahim in Karachi

How Karachi’s women got into power: the female electricians lighting up homes in Pakistan

A group of women wearing matching orange hijabs and grey coats stand in a sunny street in Karachi
Some of the 200 women who have been trained as electricians under the Roshni Baji (Light Sisters) programme in Karachi. Photograph: Zofeen T Ebrahim

A cardboard sign reading “Electrician available” hangs outside a house in the Karachi neighbourhood of Shah Latif Town. The name and phone number of a man, along with his expertise in repairing sewing machines and water pumps is listed underneath.

In reality, the electrician is 30-year-old Nazia Seher. The phone number belongs to her husband, Mohammad Rehan. Seher is among 200 certified female electricians trained by a private electricity firm in Karachi under a programme called Roshni Baji (Light Sisters).

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