FAITH IN TRANSITION
In the remote valleys of northern Pakistan, the indigenous Kalash people have long sustained a distinct spiritual and cultural identity, rooted in animist traditions and collective rituals. Yet, with the Muslim world as their long-standing neighbor, change has always existed at the edge of their lives. For Kalash youth, this means being the generation expected to carry the culture forward, despite growing up amid religious conversions, having to navigate an identity shaped by both heritage and modern Pakistan.
This project has been rewarded:
Winner of Gentex Corp Personal Safety Award
Awarded “Highly commended” in Ian Parry Photojournalist Grant with Faith In Transition
Nominated for UNICEF Photo of the Year with Faith In Transition
Award of Excellence in the The Alexia/CPOY Project Grant
Group exhibition with Magnum Photo in Paris
Hamburg portfolio review - The 100 selected photographers
Finalist for Joan Wakelin Bursary
Shortlisted for Prix Révélation SAIF x La Kabine.
After celebrating Chawmos with her family in the Kalash valleys, Zarmina rests on her bed, reflecting on the future that awaits her at University of Peshawar. Tomorrow she leaves for peshawar to study. “I want to study something that can benefit my community,” she says
In the midst of winter, Shamraz celebrates her purification, testifying her faith as Kalash. Not long ago, her father converted to islam, leaving her, and her sisters at a crossroad; shifting between belonging and becoming
Among them are Zarmina, Farzana, and Karina: three young women who have left the Kalash valleys to pursue education in Pakistani cities. With a population of around 4,000 and only one elementary school for Kalash children, education becomes an early rite of passage, one that increasingly takes place far from their ancestral valleys. What awaits them outside, however, is not neutral ground. For Kalash women in particular, the decision to pursue education carries a distinct weight. It offers access to independence and opportunity, but also places them in environments where their bodies, beliefs, and behavior are more closely judged.
“if you can never return, what happens to the part of you that stays behind” - Shamraz, Kalash 14
“When I was younger, I started rejecting being Kalash, because all my life, I had been told it would be better if I converted. Now, as an adult, in my 2.5 years at university in Peshawar, I never told anyone I am Kalash, but although it took time getting used to wearing Muslim clothes, it is worth it for the chance to learn”, Karina says.
Karina's path reveals a shared condition: education opens doors that lead away from the valleys, into a social and religious framework where belonging is defined differently, and where pressure to assimilate is both subtle and explicit. For women, this exposure is often more acute, as expectations around behavior, dress, and belief stand in stark contrast to their upbringing in the Kalash tradition.
“In Pakistan i never hope, i am afraid for future generations of Kalash, as it’s getting more expensive to study. We only have Kalasha Dur, which is the only school that teaches the Kalasha language. So if you can’t attend that school, you have to study outside, as Zarmina does. But i don’t like the abaya, cause i am Kalash, and so is Zarmina, but in Pakistan, we cannot wear what we want. i am proud of her, and i hope she will be well educated”
- Baras Khan: Zarminas Father
For some, that pressure culminates in conversion to Islam: an outcome that is neither abrupt nor accidental, but shaped over time. Within the Kalash community, conversion marks a definitive break: once made, the choice cannot be reversed. There is no path back into the faith they were born into, no ritual of return. Not all will cross that line, but its presence shapes the decisions of all who leave.
“Here, Kalasha girls only study islamiat, they dont even study their own culture. So this is also why they chose islam, chose to convert. we only have one school, Kalasa dur, that teaches us about our own religion”
-Karina
The current body of work traces this condition through the experiences of Zarmina, Farzana, and Karina. Building on this foundation, the proposed extension focuses on a pivotal moment of transition. This tension reaches a critical point at graduation, when one world must give way to another. As Zarmina, Farzana, and Karina complete their degrees this summer, the project will follow what comes next: whether they return, remain, or move further away, and how these choices reshape their sense of belonging. It asks how education ultimately transforms belonging, and what is gained, redefined, or lost in the process.