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Pakistan: Widows, orphans left behind as men die in fighting
S Khan in Islamabad
05/09/2023May 9, 2023
The war on terror and the resulting Taliban insurgency has claimed thousands of lives in Pakistan, but also left behind broken families where women are trying to pick up the pieces.
The US war on terror, launched in the aftermath of the 2001 terror attacks, did not stop at the borders of Afghanistan. Pakistan, a US ally, was left to deal with a Taliban insurgency that is believed to have killed over 30,000 people.
The fighting also left tens of thousands of women widows. Some villages in the northwestern tribal areas of Pakistan are full of women facing immense economic hardships.
'This war has taken everything from me'
Zahida Bibi comes from the South Waziristan tribal area which borders Afghanistan, considered the birthplace of the Pakistani Taliban. The area also sheltered a number of foreign fighters — including Arabs, Chechen and Uzbeks — who fled Afghanistan during the US invasion.
Bibi's father was a local tribal elder who fiercely resisted the presence of foreign militants, and his demands to expel them infuriated the Taliban. On August 23, 2009, he was killed, alongside Bibi's husband, uncle, and her older brother.
"The incident left four women of my family widowed, devastating our lives," Bibi told DW.
She says she still suffers from nightmares.
Pakistan: Widows, orphans left behind as men die in fighting
S Khan in Islamabad
05/09/2023May 9, 2023
The war on terror and the resulting Taliban insurgency has claimed thousands of lives in Pakistan, but also left behind broken families where women are trying to pick up the pieces.
The US war on terror, launched in the aftermath of the 2001 terror attacks, did not stop at the borders of Afghanistan. Pakistan, a US ally, was left to deal with a Taliban insurgency that is believed to have killed over 30,000 people.
The fighting also left tens of thousands of women widows. Some villages in the northwestern tribal areas of Pakistan are full of women facing immense economic hardships.
'This war has taken everything from me'
Zahida Bibi comes from the South Waziristan tribal area which borders Afghanistan, considered the birthplace of the Pakistani Taliban. The area also sheltered a number of foreign fighters — including Arabs, Chechen and Uzbeks — who fled Afghanistan during the US invasion.
Bibi's father was a local tribal elder who fiercely resisted the presence of foreign militants, and his demands to expel them infuriated the Taliban. On August 23, 2009, he was killed, alongside Bibi's husband, uncle, and her older brother.
"The incident left four women of my family widowed, devastating our lives," Bibi told DW.
She says she still suffers from nightmares.
Abdul Ghafoor (right), Bibi's husband, and other male members of the family listen to Bibi
Pakistan: How a tribal woman is defying patriarchal norms
Women aren't allowed to participate in politics in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region, but Duniya Bibi overcame many challenges to win a local council seat, setting an example for other women in the area.
Image: Saba Rahman/DW
Defying odds
Duniya Bibi, a 58-year-old illiterate woman, likes to keep herself abreast of the latest political happenings in the country. Every morning, her husband reads out news from a newspaper to her. Bibi defeated female candidates from leading political parties, including the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and the Muslim League Nawaz, in the recent local council election for Tehsil Yakawand, Mohmand District.
Image: Saba Rahman/DW
Every morning, her husband reads out news from a newspaper to her.
A male-dominated region
Bibi is active in politics in an area where women are not even allowed to leave home without a male companion. She told DW that her victory was important because the women in the area needed representation — a female councilor who could solve their problems. "I have tried to raise awareness about COVID in my area. Most tribal women believe the virus doesn't exist," she said.
Image: Saba Rahman/DW
Girls' education a key to prosperity
At about noon, Bibi sits with her grandchildren, has tea with them, and asks them about their studies. She says education is key to bringing prosperity to Pakistan's tribal region. "In our area, girls are not allowed to go to school. That is why they can't make decisions in their homes and don't have any say in society. I want to change that," Bibi said.
Men's support is still important in these patriarchal areas. Abdul Ghafoor, Bibi's husband, has backed Bibi's political activities wholeheartedly. "A man doesn't know much about women's issues in these areas," he said. "I encouraged my wife to contest the election so that other women also come forward and play their role."
Ali Murad, Bibi's son and a National College of Arts graduate, says he is proud of his mother's political role. "Generally, people think tribal women don't have a role outdoors. My mother has changed this perception," he said.
Apart from her public role, Bibi undertakes many household chores, such as collecting wood for cooking. She also participates in other household activities, such as washing clothes, making tea for family members and cleaning the home. She says all of these activities keep her healthy and active.
Bibi said her area was badly hit by an Islamist insurgency during the turmoil in neighboring Afghanistan. She said the Taliban must empower women and allow girls access to education. "If they do that, it will bring stability and success not only to Afghanistan but to Pakistan's tribal region as well," she said.
Image: KARIM SAHIB AFP via Getty Images
7 images
In recent times, the Pakistani Taliban have resurfaced in Bibi's area. Now Bibi is worried about her son who works as a police officer.
"This war has taken away everything from me," she said. "A few months back a cousin of mine was killed during a militant attack on a police station where he was serving as a policeman. My two sons are also working [as police officers] and I am always worried about their safety."
Bibi and other widows of the family also had to take care of orphans, including children from their extended families, who have been left without any financial support.
Asya Bibi, an activist and local councilor in South Waziristan, says that the Taliban insurgency and war on terror was catastrophic for the people in her area. But it was especially bad for women, she told DW, adding that in her own village, called Kuri Koat, more than 200 women were widowed.
"It is called the 'village of widows,' with these poor women depending on welfare programs of the federal government or the charity offered on the occasion of Muslim religious festivals," she said
Analyst: State bears responsibility
Most of the women affected by the war on terrorism, the Taliban insurgency and drone strikes come from poor families, but upper layers of society were also not immune to the horrors of the war. In 2012, a suicide attack claimed the life of Bahshir Bilour, a senior minister of northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. His son was also killed in a suicide attack in 2018. Both of them fiercely resisted the Taliban.
Mussarrat Ahmed Zeb is a former parliamentarian from Swat, the hometown of Nobel laureate Malala Yousufzai. The town was once ruled by the Taliban. Zeb, whose influential family fiercely resisted the militants, bemoaned the lack of support for thousands of widows who lost their husbands during the Taliban insurgency. She called on the government to also help children and warned that her area has only a few orphanages.
Pakistan Taliban step up attacks against police
02:46
"Widows have to look after their kids," she told DW. "If there are more orphanages, then kids could be registered there, providing time to these women to earn their livelihood."
Dr. Said Alam Mehsud, an analyst based in Peshawar, said men have been decimated during the insurgency. There have been instances where one family lost more than five or nine male members, leaving many women widowed, he told DW, adding that the state should be responsible for the plight of these women.
"It was the state policy to support these fanatics who plunged my province and parts of the country into an abyss of barbarism," he said.
"Women are facing the brunt of this state policy."
www.google.com
S Khan in Islamabad
05/09/2023May 9, 2023
The war on terror and the resulting Taliban insurgency has claimed thousands of lives in Pakistan, but also left behind broken families where women are trying to pick up the pieces.
The US war on terror, launched in the aftermath of the 2001 terror attacks, did not stop at the borders of Afghanistan. Pakistan, a US ally, was left to deal with a Taliban insurgency that is believed to have killed over 30,000 people.
The fighting also left tens of thousands of women widows. Some villages in the northwestern tribal areas of Pakistan are full of women facing immense economic hardships.
'This war has taken everything from me'
Zahida Bibi comes from the South Waziristan tribal area which borders Afghanistan, considered the birthplace of the Pakistani Taliban. The area also sheltered a number of foreign fighters — including Arabs, Chechen and Uzbeks — who fled Afghanistan during the US invasion.
Bibi's father was a local tribal elder who fiercely resisted the presence of foreign militants, and his demands to expel them infuriated the Taliban. On August 23, 2009, he was killed, alongside Bibi's husband, uncle, and her older brother.
"The incident left four women of my family widowed, devastating our lives," Bibi told DW.
She says she still suffers from nightmares.
Pakistan: Widows, orphans left behind as men die in fighting
S Khan in Islamabad
05/09/2023May 9, 2023
The war on terror and the resulting Taliban insurgency has claimed thousands of lives in Pakistan, but also left behind broken families where women are trying to pick up the pieces.
The US war on terror, launched in the aftermath of the 2001 terror attacks, did not stop at the borders of Afghanistan. Pakistan, a US ally, was left to deal with a Taliban insurgency that is believed to have killed over 30,000 people.
The fighting also left tens of thousands of women widows. Some villages in the northwestern tribal areas of Pakistan are full of women facing immense economic hardships.
'This war has taken everything from me'
Zahida Bibi comes from the South Waziristan tribal area which borders Afghanistan, considered the birthplace of the Pakistani Taliban. The area also sheltered a number of foreign fighters — including Arabs, Chechen and Uzbeks — who fled Afghanistan during the US invasion.
Bibi's father was a local tribal elder who fiercely resisted the presence of foreign militants, and his demands to expel them infuriated the Taliban. On August 23, 2009, he was killed, alongside Bibi's husband, uncle, and her older brother.
"The incident left four women of my family widowed, devastating our lives," Bibi told DW.
She says she still suffers from nightmares.
Abdul Ghafoor (right), Bibi's husband, and other male members of the family listen to Bibi
Pakistan: How a tribal woman is defying patriarchal norms
Women aren't allowed to participate in politics in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region, but Duniya Bibi overcame many challenges to win a local council seat, setting an example for other women in the area.
Image: Saba Rahman/DW
Defying odds
Duniya Bibi, a 58-year-old illiterate woman, likes to keep herself abreast of the latest political happenings in the country. Every morning, her husband reads out news from a newspaper to her. Bibi defeated female candidates from leading political parties, including the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and the Muslim League Nawaz, in the recent local council election for Tehsil Yakawand, Mohmand District.
Image: Saba Rahman/DW
Every morning, her husband reads out news from a newspaper to her.
A male-dominated region
Bibi is active in politics in an area where women are not even allowed to leave home without a male companion. She told DW that her victory was important because the women in the area needed representation — a female councilor who could solve their problems. "I have tried to raise awareness about COVID in my area. Most tribal women believe the virus doesn't exist," she said.
Image: Saba Rahman/DW
Girls' education a key to prosperity
At about noon, Bibi sits with her grandchildren, has tea with them, and asks them about their studies. She says education is key to bringing prosperity to Pakistan's tribal region. "In our area, girls are not allowed to go to school. That is why they can't make decisions in their homes and don't have any say in society. I want to change that," Bibi said.
Men's support is still important in these patriarchal areas. Abdul Ghafoor, Bibi's husband, has backed Bibi's political activities wholeheartedly. "A man doesn't know much about women's issues in these areas," he said. "I encouraged my wife to contest the election so that other women also come forward and play their role."
Ali Murad, Bibi's son and a National College of Arts graduate, says he is proud of his mother's political role. "Generally, people think tribal women don't have a role outdoors. My mother has changed this perception," he said.
Apart from her public role, Bibi undertakes many household chores, such as collecting wood for cooking. She also participates in other household activities, such as washing clothes, making tea for family members and cleaning the home. She says all of these activities keep her healthy and active.
Bibi said her area was badly hit by an Islamist insurgency during the turmoil in neighboring Afghanistan. She said the Taliban must empower women and allow girls access to education. "If they do that, it will bring stability and success not only to Afghanistan but to Pakistan's tribal region as well," she said.
Image: KARIM SAHIB AFP via Getty Images
7 images
In recent times, the Pakistani Taliban have resurfaced in Bibi's area. Now Bibi is worried about her son who works as a police officer.
"This war has taken away everything from me," she said. "A few months back a cousin of mine was killed during a militant attack on a police station where he was serving as a policeman. My two sons are also working [as police officers] and I am always worried about their safety."
Bibi and other widows of the family also had to take care of orphans, including children from their extended families, who have been left without any financial support.
Asya Bibi, an activist and local councilor in South Waziristan, says that the Taliban insurgency and war on terror was catastrophic for the people in her area. But it was especially bad for women, she told DW, adding that in her own village, called Kuri Koat, more than 200 women were widowed.
"It is called the 'village of widows,' with these poor women depending on welfare programs of the federal government or the charity offered on the occasion of Muslim religious festivals," she said
Analyst: State bears responsibility
Most of the women affected by the war on terrorism, the Taliban insurgency and drone strikes come from poor families, but upper layers of society were also not immune to the horrors of the war. In 2012, a suicide attack claimed the life of Bahshir Bilour, a senior minister of northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. His son was also killed in a suicide attack in 2018. Both of them fiercely resisted the Taliban.
Mussarrat Ahmed Zeb is a former parliamentarian from Swat, the hometown of Nobel laureate Malala Yousufzai. The town was once ruled by the Taliban. Zeb, whose influential family fiercely resisted the militants, bemoaned the lack of support for thousands of widows who lost their husbands during the Taliban insurgency. She called on the government to also help children and warned that her area has only a few orphanages.
Pakistan Taliban step up attacks against police
02:46
"Widows have to look after their kids," she told DW. "If there are more orphanages, then kids could be registered there, providing time to these women to earn their livelihood."
Dr. Said Alam Mehsud, an analyst based in Peshawar, said men have been decimated during the insurgency. There have been instances where one family lost more than five or nine male members, leaving many women widowed, he told DW, adding that the state should be responsible for the plight of these women.
"It was the state policy to support these fanatics who plunged my province and parts of the country into an abyss of barbarism," he said.
"Women are facing the brunt of this state policy."
Pakistan: Widows, orphans left behind as men die in fighting – DW – 05/09/2023
The war on terror and the resulting Taliban insurgency has claimed thousands of lives in Pakistan, but also left behind broken families where women are trying to pick up the pieces.
www.google.com
