Pashtun Indigenous People in June 2023. Photograph taken by the author during fieldwork.We are pleased to share another insightful piece from the new issue of the Fourth World Journal, “Pashtun Indigenous Knowledge and Resilience: Mitigating Climate Change in Northern Pakistan,” where Dr. Zafar Khan explores the multi-dimensional adversities the Pashtun community has faced, emphasizing the community’s autonomy and strength. Drawing from over six months of fieldwork and interviews, he uses his training as a sociologist and anthropologist to study the effects of climate change on the livelihoods of Pashtun people. His research highlights the cultural structures that inform the Pashtun peoples’ ability to endure, resist, and adapt to environmental degradation.
Hear Dr. Khan explain his work, in his own words, on our YouTube channel:
Abstract
Indigenous knowledge and resilience are embedded in the prevailing culture of traditional societies. This study aims to investigate the Pashtun culturally embedded indigenous knowledge and resilience to climate change. The Pashtun indigenous knowledge is culturally entrenched and guides them socio-culturally to mitigate the worst impact of climate change. It is revealed Pashtun indigenous knowledge and resilience are rooted in their culture and social structure. Their folk literature, metaphors, poetry, traditions, cultural capitals, social organizations, and colonial history are key elements to understanding the different aspects of Pashtun’s traditional wisdom and resilience to climate change. Pashtun social structure (such as kinship bonds, brotherhood, and reciprocity) and cultural institutions (such as Jirga) also strengthen their resilience to bounce back from the worst impact of climate change. Indigenous knowledge, socio-cultural institutions, and resilience collectively help them to face the worst impact of climate change. Pashtun have bad memories of colonial exploitation and Pakistan’s exploitative policies; hence, they do not trust state initiatives, and they rely on their traditions to counter the worst impact of climate change.
About the author:
Dr. Zafar Khan is a Pashtun indigenous author and faculty member in the Sociology Department at the University of Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. He was born and raised in Pashtun tribal society and has written several articles on Pashtun indigenous resilience and indigenous governance.
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