How Karachi's women got into power: the female electricians lighting up homes in Pakistan

The Guardian

28-03-2025

A cardboard sign reading 'Electrician available' hangs outside a house in the Karachi neighbourhood of Shah Latif Town. The name and phone number of a man, along with his expertise in repairing sewing machines and water pumps is listed underneath.
In reality, the electrician is 30-year-old Nazia Seher. The phone number belongs to her husband, Mohammad Rehan. Seher is among 200 certified female electricians trained by a private electricity firm in Karachi under a programme called Roshni Baji (Light Sisters).
Launched in 2021, the initiative provides opportunities in Pakistan's male-dominated energy sector, where women are just 4% of the workforce.
'Of the 40 in my class, 10 got job offers in K-Electric,' Seher says, referring to the city's utility company. Today, it has about 45 female meter-readers, alongside 426 men. 'Getting selected for the training was a blessing,' says Seher. 'My husband had lost his job during the pandemic and the paid internship saved us.'
Seher, who wishes there were 'more than 24 hours in my day', reads about 200 electric meters a day with a handheld device that transmits data online. 'It's a lot of work, but I love it,' she says.
At home, her husband, a textile worker, now does more of the domestic chores and helps look after their three children. 'A few years ago, brewing tea and sweeping floors felt impossible,' he says. 'Today, I chop the vegetables ready for her to make dinner.'
'Our relationship was strained with constant bickering,' adds Rehan. 'Money has brought peace.'
In the evenings, Seher earns extra income repairing irons and stoves, installing backup batteries and helping neighbours.
'She doesn't charge us,' says Noor-un-Nisa Israr, mother to a six-month-old, who has separated from her drug-addicted husband. 'It's just me, my mother and sister. As the sole breadwinner working 7am to 7pm I can't have strange men in the house. It'd raise too many questions.'
At home, Seher has installed lights and fans. Last week, she replaced the washing machine gasket, her husband says proudly.
Razia Asghar, a homemaker, praises Seher for installing a solar panel on her rooftop in the Cattle Colony neighbourhood of the city, saying it has been a lifesaver in the extreme heat and reduced their electricity bill.
Seher says: 'We only studied solar panel installation in theory, so that was my first time.'
She has since received more requests from families in Cattle Colony. 'It's a purdah-observing area [where women are kept socially separate], so being a woman has worked to my advantage. Building trust and relying on word of mouth are crucial to establishing a reputation as an electrician.'
Sign up to Her Stage
Hear directly from incredible women from around the world on the issues that matter most to them – from the climate crisis to the arts to sport
after newsletter promotion
But there are irritations too. 'Just recently, a man commented loudly [asking] if there were no male electricians left in the country that women had to step in, while passing by me,' says Seher, 'I wanted to respond, but let it pass.'
In nearly four years, the Roshni Bajis have reached 800,000 households, each visiting 35-40 homes a day.
Mushrooming development and unplanned building in slums create high risks of electrical accidents, and cases of electrocution are far from rare. One of the major risks comes from people using metal hooks, known as kundas, to illegally tap into the main power lines in the absence of proper connections.
Seven years ago, Durdana Shoaib's daughter touched a transformer on their rooftop, leaving her with burns and permanent nerve damage.
'We were negligent as parents,' says Shoaib, who went on to join the Roshni Baji programme. Living in a slum, she says the most common hazard is wires trailing in puddles, with women and children walking by barefoot. 'It's a perfect recipe for getting electrocuted, but people remain unaware,' she says.
Shoaib has made it her mission to raise awareness about electrical hazards. Last year, K-Electric removed more than 250,000 kundas across the city, almost 350 tonnes of illegal wiring.
The company works to connect communities to the network. In 2024, nearly 7,000 illegal connections were removed and meters installed in Bin Qasim Town, a hotspot for electricity accidents in Karachi.