‘All we need are equal opportunities’

Mussarat says she sees no change in Swat for women as schools destroyed by Taliban have not been rebuilt.

SWAT:

Mussarat Ahmad Zeb, a social worker and member of Swat’s royal family, is not happy with the state of women in the region.

“I see no change in Swat because schools destroyed by the Taliban have still not been rebuilt. We need a women’s university and more opportunities because our women have the talent and skills, but they lack opportunities,” she told The Express Tribune on Tuesday.

She was attending one of the many functions organised in Swat Valley aiming to highlight women’s rights, with women from across the social spectrum in attendance.

At another International Women’s Day function, former EDO and social worker Iffat Nasir, while talking to The Express Tribune, said, “The Taliban banned all social activities for women. Our social life was completely over during that dark time.”

She recalled how women were isolated in their houses. Working women began suffering from stress and anxiety because they found themselves suddenly unemployed: with their jobs went the source of livelihood for their children.

“I personally saw women being degraded openly in the markets as the Taliban stripped away their veils and beat them. Militants would stand guard outside houses to stop women from coming out,” Nasir said.

She still remembers the day the Taliban banned women’s education. “It was December 24 and there was a function at our school, I wept bitterly when I heard their announcement.” She hoped that the legacy of Fazlullah will fade away with the help of an educated society. Halima Fakhar, a headmistress at a government school said, “The fear developed during the mayhem still exists in women because the militancy is still fresh in our minds. Women have lost their self-confidence.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 9^th, 2011.