For the inhabitants of Baba Island, which lies just off the coast of the Pakistan’s capital and megacity of Karachi, life is becoming tougher every year that passes. Some 25,000 people are packed into a single square kilometre of tightly-packed concrete, with little greenery, unreliable electricity, and few options for work beyond fishing. At sea, however, the catch is shrinking as overfishing, environmental degradation, and increasing sea temperatures transform the waters they depend on.
For women, the daily pressures are often even greater. Islanders regularly now experience heat of more than 45C during the summer months, but women often have less freedom to move, spending their days in cramped homes with little ventilation, without the option of jumping into the sea on the hottest days as men do.
