Hunza: A Paradise Of High Literacy, Longevity and Gender Equality in a Remote Corner Of Pakistan

By Palash Ghosh
Guest Writer for Wake Up World

The Hunza Valley, a region in the Gilgit–Baltistan territory of northernmost Pakistan, is renowned not only for its spectacular natural scenery of majestic mountains and glittering lakes but also for the beauty of its people, who enjoy a long life expectancy. The rough mountain terrain, clean air and water, an abundance of healthy organic foods like dried apricots and almonds, and relative isolation are believed to have blessed the locals with excellent health and long lives. Indeed, Hunza Valley was reportedly the inspiration for the paradise of “Shangri La” in the book “Lost Horizons” by James Hilton.

But Hunza and its environs are renowned for something else that is quite extraordinary: At least three-quarters of people in the Valley – and virtually all the youths of both genders — can read and write (in a country where about 55 percent of the population is literate, and millions of girls are essentially blocked from attending school). Almost every child in Hunza attends school up to at least the high school level, while many pursue higher studies at colleges in Pakistan and abroad.