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My name is Shareefa, I am 55 years old. I want to tell you about Rasheeda who died couple of months ago. She was my daughter-in-law (wife of my son).

She was 25 years old and was pregnant with her 4th baby. During her pregnancy, I regularly took her to lady doctor who lives in a nearby village (1.5 hours drive), unfortunately we do not have any lady doctor in our village. As Rasheeda had couple of miscarriages before this pregnancy, the lady doctor suggested us to admit her to Jacobabad city hospital couple of days before the expected delivery date. The hospital is around 3 hours drive from our village on rickshaw or via bus which comes only two times a day.

We were all very happy as Rasheeda and baby were healthy and she was supposed to give birth in safe environment of city hospital. A week before expected delivery date, i hired the rickshaw to take her to visit city hospital. I still remember that she was so happy that day, she kissed her children and asked her sister to take care of kids till she returns with their (newborn) brother. We left for the hospital early in the morning, i kept some extra cash with me (around PKR 5000) for any emergency situation.

We reached the hospital after 3 hours of journey in hot summer day. After the medical checkup, the lady doctor told us that there are some complications involved and we need to deposit PKR 40,000 urgently so that Rasheeda can be admitted to the hospital at earliest for a delivery operation.

I were very confused and worried on how to arrange such a huge amount. That day we came out of the hospital and stayed at home of our relatives in Jacobabad. In order to arrange some money, i contacted my son (her husband), he was in Quetta that time for some labour work. He promised me to send some money by next day. It was very difficult to arrange such big amount at such a short notice. I even offered my gold earrings to the hospital as a guarantee for payment (expected next day). None of them (even our relatives) relied on my words may be because i was poor and they thought i won’t payback.

Same day late night, Rasheeda felt the pains of delivery, so I took her to another Government hospital. She gave birth to a dead baby. We were thankful to Allah that at least mother’s life is saved. But we didn’t know that she was alive for few hours only. She was sad and shocked to hear about her dead baby. She fell unconscious and died after few hours. Next day I received the money sent by my son, but it was too late now. I used the same money for her funeral.

I still feel that I could have saved her life if somebody had lend me some money that day.

At this old age, now I take care of Rasheeda’s three young children (all below age of 5). I have started to make rillis along with routine farming activities to get some financial support to feed these kids.

A note from Indus Crafts:

This is our first story submission at any platform (for the first time published by Stories Beyond Borders). Volunteers at Indus Crafts met with Shareefa last month and recommended her as beneficiary of our program. We wish we could have met Rasheeda few months before and could have helped her during that critical moment. Lack of public health facilities in rural areas of Pakistan is one of the main cause of deaths during pregnancy. The situation becomes even more complicated due to prevailing poverty of these marginalized communities living in abject poverty.

Ralli Quilts (رلّي) – Struggle for Social Justice from Indus Crafts on Vimeo.

This story was originally posted by Stories Beyond Borders 

The Great Thar Desert and Art of Rilli Making

Listen to the Audio Tour of Thar desert of Pakistan published by International Quilt Study Center & Museum (IQSCM), University of Nebraska - Linkoln, USA. 

 Transcript:

The great Thar Desert is the seventh-largest desert in the world. It extends from southern Punjab and northwest Rajasthan down through Sindh and Kutch in Gujarat on both sides of the India-Pakistan border. The people of Thar distinguish themselves by their languages, mixture of religions (mainly Muslim and Hindu), occupations, and cultures. A saying from the Thar area is that “the earth grows a different type of human being every hundred miles.”

Throughout history, the part of the Thar in southeastern Pakistan has been particularly isolated. It is separated from other areas by the great salt flats of the Rann of Kutch. Only unpaved roads connect many of the small communities. Enormous sand dunes cover the landscape dotted with desert foliage, given color only with the monsoon rains. Drought is one of the factors of life in the Thar. Wells, usually two to three hundred feet deep, hold life-giving water. Rounded beehive-shaped huts made from local small woods dot the landscape.

Life has changed little over time, with most people relying on animals and their products, food, and leather and wool, to live. Women take care of the children, cook food, help build the home, wash clothes, bring water from the well, collect dung and wood for fuel, help cultivate the land, and sew for their families. Much time and effort is spent in making beautiful clothes and preparing for the wedding dowry. The regions of the Thar Desert are the world’s richest source of folk embroidery, known for its intricate embroidery, bold textile designs, often inspired by flowers, dunes, and peacocks. There are also textile decorations for home and animals, and a variety of bags and other objects, all enhanced with shells, shiny sequins, buttons, and mirrors. The quilts, or rallis, from the Thar area are known for their bold designs and creative use of color.

Among the well-known groups of the Thar are the nomadic Saami who spend the year travelling through the Thar on their migrations between Iran and India. The Saami are famous for their quilts that are closely and intricately stitched over a background of solid fabric.

 source: International Quilt Study Center & Museum, University of Nebraska - Linkoln, USA 

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