Diana Australis' photos with the keyword: school

A small town high in the mountains of Baltistan, Pakistan. This is in a very remote and conservative area of the country. When I travelled here 25 years ago, I saw no schools and no females. School was some boys in a field with a man with a slate, writing words to learn. Women were within the homes or compounds. Female literacy there was about 5%. Now there are schools, and girls’ schools all through the region. The walls of the schools have a mix of murals, pictures and slogans to emphasise the importance of education. It is very difficult to photograph females here, even children, so I sneaked this one. These little ones are in a school with the statements of Malala Yousufzai on the walls…one pen one teacher, one book etc. It is great to see progress! Happy Wall Wednesday to all.

The Kalash are an Indo-Ayrian minority group in Pakistan, living in remote valleys adjacent to the Pakistan border. As non Muslims they come under pressure from extremists who feel these women should be in hijabs and be subservient. They are, in the contrary, confident, boldly dressed in their traditional clothes, and educated. Education is very highly valued. This is a school. Kids have UNICEF bags. The back view of the girls in their daily headgear coming off the field from a game of cricket in school PE lesson. The picture at the bottom is an imposter ( me) at a village ceremony with local friends.

Lesson time. India. Himachal Pradesh. India