International Women's Day - Plan Bee

Today is International Women’s Day. A day to celebrate the achievements of women, the contribution they make to society and their role in inspiring others.

Adeela Shafi pays tribute to a group of women in Pakistan, who against the odd, is bringing change to their lives and the environment.

Celebrated in developed and developing countries, International Women’s day is recognition of the integral role of women in all walks of life. Indeed it is a day that empowers women to reach for more and more.
 
…yes, yes…I hear you say. This is all for the Western world. Women in our countries are different, they have a central role in the family – they do not contribute to the economy so what is there to celebrate about that.
 
But in the foothills of Northern Pakistan there are some very ‘unwestern’ women doing exactly what International Women’s Day sets out to recognise and celebrate. These women, as many other silent women around the world, are playing a vital role in their families, their local communities, their local economy - even global issues.

The women I speak about are beekeepers producing honey for the five star hotel group Hashoo which owns most of the luxury hotels in Pakistan. Supported by the Hashoo Foundation – a registered charity, which aims to train, finance and purchase the honey produced by these women.

The women are able to become a working part of their communities, they are able to come out of the private quarters of their homes and be equal decision makers in the incredibly male dominated area of Gilgit. Without an education, perceivable necessary skills or financial capacity, a family headed only by a woman often means they are doomed to a cycle of poverty, destitution and vulnerable to the ills of society.
 
But for the women of Gilgit, the Honey Bee Project provides them with training and empowers them to take control of their own destiny. They are able to feed their families, educate their children, and be valuable members of their community.

Take the story of Jamila, mother of three, who five years ago started the Project with just two beehives and today she has 20 beehives. She is able to send her children to school, she has aspirations for a higher education for them, and she provides all the daily basics for her family and above all feels that she has control over her life.

Jamila is currently on a further training programme with the Hashoo Foundation to venture into the production of the lucrative by-products of honey, which she is very excited about as all her produce, which is organic, is guaranteed to be purchased by the Hashoo Group to sell and serve in their hotels. That in itself is a sense of pride for Jamila, that she is part of Pakistan’s hospitality to visitors to her country.
 
Jamila is part of the Honey Bee Project - winner of the 2009 BBC World Challenge competition, the first time Pakistan has ever one such an award; a major achievement for Pakistan, a country that is more often than not in the media glare for negative issues.

From a total of 712 projects, the Honey Bee Project was voted winner for its original concept and its way of empowering women on a long-term sustainable basis which filters through to an entire community.

In a global context the cultivation of bees and their production of honey and all its by-products is also addressing a wider issue which is in need of urgent attention.

Therefore Pakistanis are leading the way in innovation and focusing on an industry an important environmental issue. So well done to all those who voted for the Project because it places focus on the Gilgit valleys and the bee industry.
 
The bee population has in the UK alone dropped 30% in 2007-2008 posing a very serious threat to the world production of food. Bees are not just vital in the production of honey and other products, but perhaps more importantly as the main pollination of plants and hence food production. Insects pollinate around a third of everything we humans eat, be it fruit, nuts, vegetables, seeds as well as the foliage consumed by our livestock.

We as a developed nation will have to get a grip on the seriousness of the issues and the consequences if it is not addressed. The government might argue that they have more pressing and immediate economic matters. But the point is that even though it may not make the headlines today, if we are to avoid another catastrophe that could be bigger than the collapse of the banking system, we have to lobby our government to press the issue more urgently.
 
In the short-term if British Pakistanis support the growing bee industry in the Gilgit region, perhaps Pakistan could lead the way in what is no doubt going to be a global food concern if it is not addressed.  And maybe this is the opportunity to lead Pakistan out of one of the most difficult and testing times in her short history.
 
The honey bee may be a summer irritant to some of us, but in reality the survival of the honey bee is not just vital women in Gilgit but could be an opportunity for Pakistan itself as well as to us here in the West. There is a reason why the Quran makes continual reference to the bee in many verses – another instance of our inability to recognise the vital messages contained within this great literary piece of all time.
 
To donate or support the Honey Bee Project visit the: hashoofoundation.
 
Adeela Shafi is a former Conservative Parliamentary Candidate  Bristol East
Lecturer in Psychology University of the West of England

Main picture: Bee keepers in Gilit.