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A boy pushes a donkey cart loaded with bundles of cotton blooms that were collected by women cotton pickers in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi September 25, 2014. Women make up the bulk of Pakistan's half a million cotton producers, but labour rights activists say they are often exploited by overseers, who often withhold their wages and may subject some of them to sexual harassment. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

A boy pushes a donkey cart loaded with bundles of cotton blooms that were collected by women cotton pickers in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi September 25, 2014. Women make up the bulk of Pakistan's half a million cotton producers, but labour rights activists say they are often exploited by overseers, who often withhold their wages and may subject some of them to sexual harassment. Many women work in Pakistan's cotton fields for less than $2 a day. Last year, a group of around 40 women decided their low wages could no longer cover food and clothing for their families so they did something almost unheard for poor working women in rural Pakistan – they went on strike. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)




A man sprays pesticides on a cotton field in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi September 26, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

A man sprays pesticides on a cotton field in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi September 26, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)




Laali, 11, holds a bloom of cotton plucked from a plant while working with her family in a field in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi September 25, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

Laali, 11, holds a bloom of cotton plucked from a plant while working with her family in a field in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi September 25, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)




Women carry bundles of cotton blooms on their heads while heading to a collection point in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi September 26, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

Women carry bundles of cotton blooms on their heads while heading to a collection point in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi September 26, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)




Women cotton pickers unload cotton blooms plucked from plants to make a bundle in a field in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi September 25, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

Women cotton pickers unload cotton blooms plucked from plants to make a bundle in a field in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi September 25, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)




A man makes notes while others carry a bundle of cotton blooms attached to a weighing scale in a field in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi September 25, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

A man makes notes while others carry a bundle of cotton blooms attached to a weighing scale in a field in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi September 25, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)




A man carries a bundle of cotton blooms on his shoulder, collected by women (unseen) in a field in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi September 25, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

A man carries a bundle of cotton blooms on his shoulder, collected by women (unseen) in a field in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi September 25, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)




A boy carries a bundle of dry cotton plants to use as fuel to cook food in a field in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi September 26, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

A boy carries a bundle of dry cotton plants to use as fuel to cook food in a field in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi September 26, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)




A boy checks raw cotton blooms collected by women cotton pickers, at a collection point in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi September 26, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

A boy checks raw cotton blooms collected by women cotton pickers, at a collection point in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi September 26, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)




Tulsi, a cotton picker sorts out cotton blooms while sitting on a rope bed in the premises of her home in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

Tulsi, a cotton picker sorts out cotton blooms while sitting on a rope bed in the premises of her home in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)




A girl holds cotton blooms in her shirt knotted as a bag while standing with others along a street in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

A girl holds cotton blooms in her shirt knotted as a bag while standing with others along a street in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)




Tulsi, who is cotton picker, stands in the doorway of her room which is decorated with coloured patterns, in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

Tulsi, who is cotton picker, stands in the doorway of her room which is decorated with coloured patterns, in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)




A woman cotton picker shakes the dust from bedding sheets in the sunshine outside her home in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

A woman cotton picker shakes the dust from bedding sheets in the sunshine outside her home in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)




Sajan, a grocery shopkeeper weighs sugar for customers in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

Sajan, a grocery shopkeeper weighs sugar for customers in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)




A boy stands near a television set in a grocery shop in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

A boy stands near a television set in a grocery shop in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)




A boy who picks cotton from a field, smiles while being photographed along a street in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

A boy who picks cotton from a field, smiles while being photographed along a street in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)




A woman cotton picker wears pendants, each featuring Allah and the Hindu deity Hanuman, in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

A woman cotton picker wears pendants, each featuring Allah and the Hindu deity Hanuman, in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)




Utensils placed on a mud wall shelf adorned with Bollywood film star posters are seen in a room owned by a cotton picker's family in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

Utensils placed on a mud wall shelf adorned with Bollywood film star posters are seen in a room owned by a cotton picker's family in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)




Tangoo, a cotton picker, feeds her family buffaloes outside her home in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

Tangoo, a cotton picker, feeds her family buffaloes outside her home in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)




Sadori 35, a cotton picker, prepares a meal at her home in the evening after working in the cotton fields in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi September 26, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

Sadori 35, a cotton picker, prepares a meal at her home in the evening after working in the cotton fields in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi September 26, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)




A pot of milk is covered with a bowl and placed in a hole in wall, at a home belonging to a cotton picker's family in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

A pot of milk is covered with a bowl and placed in a hole in wall, at a home belonging to a cotton picker's family in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)




Tulsi, a cotton picker eats her lunch of boiled rice while sitting in her home in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

Tulsi, a cotton picker eats her lunch of boiled rice while sitting in her home in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)




A general view of a room belonging to a cotton picker family in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

A general view of a room belonging to a cotton picker family in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)




Seeta, a cotton picker, rocks her baby in a hammock in her room decorated with posters of Bollywood film stars in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

Seeta, a cotton picker, rocks her baby in a hammock in her room decorated with posters of Bollywood film stars in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)




Women cotton pickers sit and listen during a leadership and advocacy skills workshop organized by the Sindh Community Foundation (SCF), in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

Women cotton pickers sit and listen during a leadership and advocacy skills workshop organized by the Sindh Community Foundation (SCF), in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)




Beena Hussain, a trainer, gestures while speaking to women cotton pickers during a leadership and advocacy skills workshop organised by the Sindh Community Foundation (SCF), in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

Beena Hussain, a trainer, gestures while speaking to women cotton pickers during a leadership and advocacy skills workshop organised by the Sindh Community Foundation (SCF), in Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi November 23, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)




A woman cotton picker shows her hands as she poses for a picture in cotton fields near Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi September 25, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

A woman cotton picker shows her hands as she poses for a picture in cotton fields near Meeran Pur village, north of Karachi September 25, 2014. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)
10 Dec 2014 12:27:00