Lines, now 75, worked for decades in the area taking courses in healthcare so that she could offer basic aid. She also set up societies to help protect the environment and the people, with whom she developed close relationships. In 2004, Maureen Lines was granted Pakistani nationality and in 2007, she was given the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz for her services. But today, she says local authorities have apparently turned against her. Some weeks ago, the lady was forcibly taken away from her home in the Valley by authorities who said she faced a Taliban threat. She was kept under virtual arrest in Chitral and has now moved to Peshawar.
The security concerns are not entirely invalid. A Greek national, who had also worked for years for the people of Kalash Valley, was kidnapped in the area some months ago and returned only after a long period in the extremists’ captivity. However, depriving such people of what little assistance they have is not a solution. People like Maureen Lines need to be provided protection by the government in areas where they live rather than be relocated. Somehow, the writ of the state has to be strengthened so that people can reside where they please and carry out the admirable humanitarian work — which is the responsibility of the state in the first place — they have chosen to take upon themselves.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 16th, 2012.
COMMENTS (3)
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The Kalash have no chance of retaining their culture and religious beliefs in Pakistan. It not going to be long before they are all coerced into converting to Islam. Actually, the surprise is that there are still any non-muslim Kalash left in Pakistan at all.
@Zalmai, Yes I agree that Afghanistan has a better history of religious tolerance compared to Pakistan. However, it must be admitted that, historically, Islam and Islamic countries have been very aggressive against non-believers. A good read would be "The Sword of the Prophet" by Serge Trifkovic, who has done a scholarly work on Islamic history of conquest and conversions.
@Raw is war
Prior to the 80s this evangelical jihadi culture did not exist. Afghan Hindus, Sikhs and a tiny Jewish community in Kabul lived and prospered in Afghanistan without any of the societal, cultural and religious pressures they are faced with today. Hindu temples and Sikh Gurdwaras exist in Kandahar, Kabul and Jalalabad to this day. But Pakistan is a different beast altogether.
Over the decades, the culture of the Kalash people of the Chitral Valley has been decimated as a result of action by religious zealots
Can we be honest here and say without fear that it is Islam which is the main scourge for these poor tribes? Islam encourages people to be converted- by force, or otherwise. They feel they go to heaven by converting a person to Islam. They don't care of they are using force and violence. Liberal Muslims and Muslim women are complicit in this disgusting practice by not opposing it.
For Muslim men of Pakistan, non-Muslim women have become a fair game. The Kalash women are kidnapped and converted- similar to what is happening to Hindu women.
There are thousands of tribals in India who follow their own life-style. They are happy in their own societies. No body even bothers them. Why cant Muslim societies set an example likewise?