Increasing heat impacting health of women cotton pickers, moot told.

HYDERABAD -- Increasing temperature is casting damaging impacts on the livelihoods and health of women cotton pickers who have to cut down on their time in fields due to increasing heat.

It was discussed by participants of a consultative workshop. DiffeArent issues confronting women cotton pickers also came under discussion.

Women from three villages of Matiari district attended the workshop organised on Friday by the Sindh Community Foundation (SCF) in collaboration with Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development.

SCF head Javed Soz said the increased temperature had affected health of women as during picking, they did not have access to safe drinking water or time to take break in fields and they also suffered from dehydration, heat stroke etc. He said that no measures were taken by growers and cotton pickers and neither they were not provided health compensation.

He lauded Sindh government's legislation of Sindh Women AgriAculture Workers Bill, 2019 and demanded its implementation to protect cotton pickers, calling for serious consideration to their health.

A cotton picker, Ms Quershan, from the village of Jamal Dahri, said that increased temperature reduced their picking time as they were unable to pick cotton during peak summer season or less picking...