Sethi has long argued that in Pakistan, environmental degradation is a feminist issue. Through her seminal work with Bedari (a NGO focused on women’s development and health), she highlighted how resource scarcity—specifically water and clean fuel—disproportionately affects women. In rural Punjab and Sindh, where water tables are dropping due to over-extraction and climate irregularity, Sethi documented how women walk miles daily, sacrificing their health and education. For Sethi, the "environment" is the kitchen filled with smoke from wood fires; it is the parched land that dictates a girl’s right to go to school.
Huma Naz Sethi challenges Pakistanis to redefine their environment. It is not just the pristine valleys of the North or the mangroves of the South. It is the toxic air of Lahore that gives children asthma; it is the solid waste in Karachi that blocks drains; it is the scorching heat of Multan that kills the daily wager. By centering human rights, Sethi transforms the environment from a scientific dataset into a story of dignity. environment of pakistan huma naz sethi
Here is a critical write-up connecting the two. In Pakistan, the conversation around climate change often revolves around melting glaciers, rising heatwaves, and monsoon floods. But for veteran activist Huma Naz Sethi , the "Environment of Pakistan" cannot be separated from the bodies that inhabit it. Sethi’s four-decade-long career reframes the environment not as a distant geographical concept, but as a living, breathing space where power, gender, and survival collide. Sethi has long argued that in Pakistan, environmental