Defying odds: Pakistan's first female jirga to represent women in Swat

The head of the female jirga says they have no intention of shunning the judiciary and the law.

MINGORA: "Previously, men would commit crime and women would unjustly pay but not anymore," says head of the first female jirga, Tabassum Bashir. 

Set up in Swat, the female jirga is the first of its kind in the country but holds special significance in the region for it has seen an increasing number of terrorist attacks that have directly targeted women.

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Dissatisfied with not being able to voice their concerns at the jirga-level, a group of women led by Tabassum, decided to form the first female assembly to resolve local disputes.

"We don't deal with criminal cases," said Tabassum, adding that the female jirga has no intention of shunning the judiciary or the police.

Traditionally, jirgas have been a male dominated assembly which is convened to settle disputes between certain groups.

"If a man were to commit a crime, he'd pay the price by giving up his daughter or sister in exchange," said Tabassum, claiming that a number of disputes were settled this way, through a custom called "Nanawatey".

The female jirga which aims to train and plan events for women in the future, currently just sees itself safeguarding the rights of the local women.

"First of all, our survival is important. We will focus on other rights after we have been guaranteed the right to live," said Tabassum.