Where no man has gone before: Women mediators resolving years-long disputes

DRC committees swamped with cases as more people turn to them

PESHAWAR: It took the men nine years of meetings, but they could not come up with a solution. However, the moment a woman stepped into the picture, a long-standing dispute between two families, which had already claimed a life, was settled within days and now they coexist peacefully.

“I have resolved many disputes, but I am most proud of this one. I did what men could not do,” boasts Nusrat Begum, the member of a Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) formed under the Alternate Disputes Resolution (ADR) programme. The 40-year-old adds that male jirga members had little success in reaching any solution to this dispute over a piece of land.



The K-P government has received a fair amount of criticism for various reasons, but its supporters can at least point to some of the recently-introduced legislation and initiatives as a sign of progress. The ADR programme is one of them and aims to provide people with immediate and cost-free justice.

Local DRCs for different localities (DRCs) are established and residents with clean records and no political affiliations are chosen as mediators.

Besides the male members, over 100 female mediators will also be trained and be part of the committees. Around 21 of them have already been trained and are busy solving problems.

Nusrat is one of those currently resolving disputes and is part of a committee formed for the Gulbahar in the provincial capital. She hails from Lower Dir and has not only been mediating in the city, but also her native village of Warhi.

Enjoying the support of her family, the DRC member says she had resolved several disputes and never demanded anything in return.

Nusrat adds the committees have become so successful that many people from Gulbahar visit her house to seek free and immediate dispute resolution. However, most of the people in need of help are women.

“We live in a male-dominated society, but somehow the burden falls on the women,” she says. “Men make the mistakes, but women pay the greatest price. You will find mostly women visiting my house.”

The mediator points out that most of the issues faced by women are related to their in-laws. “However, in some cases, women seek my assistance when their brothers [or other family members] refuse to pay their share of inheritance.”

Although she is swamped with cases in Gulbahar, Nusrat has to take out time to visit Warhi as people need her to mediate there as well. The fact that she has the complete support of her husband, two sons and in-laws makes the job easier.

She appreciated the provincial government for launching the ADR, an initiative by Aitebaar, a four-year programme funded by the UK government’s Department For International Development, which helps the provincial administration in its peace-building strategies.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 14^th, 2014.