Pakistan: Being a Girl In Taliban Territory

The women and girls of Pakistan's NW provinces are finding out just what Afghanistan's women and girls lived through when under Taliban rule and it is not pretty. This article over at NDTV takes a look at life through a girl's eyes when living in the Taliban area of Pakistan. Here's some of those details:

While the rest of Pakistan intellectualizes the fight against the Taliban in the North West Frontier Province, the girls here are fighting to keep their dreams alive. The Taliban burnt down over 125 girls schools in the province, calling women's education un-Islamic, and converted the remains of the building into their local headquarters, so no student nor teacher would dare pick up the pieces. "The Taliban have sent us threats through letters, warning us not to go to school. They say that it is un-Islamic for girls to be educated. But this is not true this is not what Islam says," says Amna from Swat district. Mariyam reflects: "We also have our own dreams. We want to continue our education so that we can have a better future. But it seems that we may not be able to that, do due to the prevailing situation. I sometimes wonder if we will ever have peace and if I will ever be able to complete my education."

And, look at this question from a Pakistani girl to the Taliban:

"I just do not understand what the Taliban have against us girls. Do we girls not have the right to live? I live in a hostel here but I am always worried about my parents back home. I fear for them, as there are clashes at home. That is the reason I cannot concentrate on my studies," says Zareena from Swat district.

The suppression and atrocities towards women and girls in Afghanistan when the Taliban ruled is well documented and we have seen the Taliban take up those same methods in NW Pakistan. As I have stated before here, part of the Taliban's plan has always been to rob the youth of their education - not just that of girls. Let's face it, for a populace to buy into this extremist form of islam that the Taliban adheres to, you have to have a population of pretty "slow" civilians. We have heard American commanders in Afghanistan complain that the biggest reason the Afghan army has been slow to get up to speed is the education barrier - that shows the net effect of those years of the Taliban basically closing down education there.

Being a girl in Taliban territory

Mariyam reflects: "We also have our own dreams. We want to continue our education so that we can have a better future. But it seems that we may not be able to that, do due to the prevailing situation. I sometimes wonder if we will ever have peace and if I will ever be able to complete my education."Mariyam's plaintive appeal, which echoes the condition all these girls are in, have prompted parents to send them away to boarding schools far away from the Taliban's war. It is not the best arrangement for many who've never been away from their parents, but the homesickness is overtaken by worry over the safety of their families back in the areas hit by the fighting. Many couldn't even go home for the Eid holidays because of the clashes. "I just do not understand what the Taliban have against us girls. Do we girls not have the right to live? I live in a hostel here but I am always worried about my parents back home. I fear for them, as there are clashes at home. That is the reason I cannot concentrate on my studies," says Zareena from Swat district. The tightrope between worry and determination to follow their dreams is one these girls are learning to walk. They want to grow up and become doctors and lawyers, so they can help their people. Ambereen of Swat says: "They say that hope makes the world go round. We still hope that one day our home, our paradise, will be peaceful again. We will bring peace to our country. And we believe that if the army cooperates with us, we will succeed in driving out the Taliban and bringing peace to our region. We hope that we will get our old Swat back and we too will see prosperity."By destroying girl's schools the Taliban have not only disrupted the lives of school children but also of their entire families. What is encouraging though is that despite being uprooted from their homes, these young girls are determined to complete their education and to chase their dreams.