A Town Run By Women
“Heaven is all around us. All we need is perception.”
Gulmit. Beautiful, beautiful Gulmit.
I would not be wrong if I said Gulmit is the closest thing to Heaven on Earth.
It is a secluded town is District of Hunza, located in the Gilgit Baltistan province, in northern Pakistan.
I still remember everything like it was yesterday.
How the gush of chilly wind welcomed me when I stepped out of the car.
How I inhaled the freshest breathe of clean, pure air, feeling more awake than I ever had felt.
I was instantly rewarded with a breathtaking view of the majestic mountain with their glazed, frosted tips. Exactly how I had imagined them to be.
Somehow I had stepped into a painting. Or the most beautiful dream, I have ever had.
Gulmit
Hunza has some of the most amazing towns with quite vast variations between the cultures and living styles.
One of these towns is Gulmit. For me, Gulmit is the heart of Hunza.
It has an estimated population of only 5000 people and they speak a language called Wakhi. What makes Gulmit so special is that more than 50% of the population is that of Females.
From beating boys in the basketball courts to planting food and taking care of the agricultural production, women are the dominant members of the town.
A town run by women, what could ever go wrong.
But you know what the most important thing is?
It has a literacy rate of more than 95%.
Which to be honest is quite spectacular.
I remember this one lady we came across as we were exploring the around the town.
She had planted multiple crops of fruits, vegetables and basically everything you could possibly imagine, in the garden outside her house.
She stopped us and told us how her daughter lives in Lahore where she is doing her MBA from. After sensing our surprise she told us most of the girls of the village had completed their education up-to their masters level. It was the norm in their society really.
A town that perfect? You literally have to cross oceans to reach it.
Well, not oceans, that’s an exaggeration, but just a lake- the most beautiful lake in the world.
Gulmit is cut off from the rest off the city. Hence the only way to reach Gulmit is through the Attabad Lake, through the local boats.
However, after the completion of the Karakoram Highway, it has become easier to go to and from Gulmit.
“You will never be completely at home again, because a part of your heart will be elsewhere.”
With no social media, no mobile services, absolutely no connection to the world outside, its the most relaxed I had ever felt. I left my heart in Gulmit.
