Understanding the Role of Women in Conflict: A Case Study of Swat

Abstract

The armed conflicts across the world have depicted an increased threat to women in numerous ways, but their (in)direct role in violent conflicts remains largely unexplored. A similar trend is observed for Pakistan where the radicalization of women has not received significant attention from the researchers. One probable reason for this dearth of literature is that women are not perceived as an equal part of socio-political activities as men are. The violent conflict in Swat, from 2007 to 2009, presents itself as a case study in this regard. This research is an in-depth effort to explore the ways in which the Taliban movement exclusively targeted and influenced the local women and the consequent support they received from this particular segment of society. The study was based on semi-structured interviews conducted in different regions of Swat, which remained as the safe havens of Taliban. The objective of this research was to comprehend the relationship between women and conflict and to explore their ways of involvement in the conflict. The researcher also investigated the communication strategies employed by the Taliban to enable the correspondence of women with the Taliban movement. Their sermons and speeches, employing religion as a manipulative tool, were aired on the radio to encourage the women for supporting Taliban. This support was realized through the contributions of the local women towards the violent conflict in the form of economic and human resources. Understanding the role of women in the conflict and the radicalization they have experienced is important for carrying out de-radicalization attempts and preventing radicalization in future.