Women Democratic Front (WDF) leaders on Tuesday condemned a recent order of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government banning the media and social media coverage of all events in girls’ schools in the province. In a joint statement, WDF leaders Mumtaz Tajik and Ismat Shahjahan said, “The action of the KP government reinforces the existing gender segregation, one of the tools to systematically degrade women’s position in the society. Gender segregation reinforces the idea of the natural role of a woman in a patriarchal society, limiting her to the confines of a home, away from the public sphere. It also paves the way for depriving women of opportunities and limiting their access to resources, services and recognition.” WDF information secretary Tooba Syed said that in this particular case, the achievements of the girls would not be shared on social media and with the public in the name of “protection” and upholding their “modesty”. She added that the imposition of the ban would mean no recognition for the achievements of girls because they needed to be kept away from the public eye while the achievements of the boys would be celebrated, which was a thoroughly unconstitutional form of discrimination. Published in Daily Times, October 31st 2018.