On hearing news of the increasing number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) coming to Bannu after Operation Zarb-e-Azb was announced, I began to visit them in order to help the IDPs by providing them with basic relief items. Upon a recent third trip mainly focused on providing women and children with assistance, my attention was promptly drawn towards the unending problems they were facing.
The Federal Disaster Management Authority (FDMA) registered 71,654 displaced families comprising 227,212 males, 252,721 females and 372,562 children as of July 8, 2014. Since the day the IDPs came walking from North Waziristan to Bannu in the sweltering heat, women and children have not been provided with the kind of assistance they ought to receive. Most male heads of the families are overseas for work and their womenfolk have been showing up for registration without national identity cards (CNICs). Lack of the CNIC for registration by most of the female heads of households (widows or women with husbands overseas) does not allow them to register and claim assistance. There are many women lacking CNIC registration due to which they are not provided with IDP registration cards, depriving them of relief assistance by the army, NGOs, individuals and government.
The women in Pashtun tribal society are treated in their own way. They are bound to stay at home and are not involved in any community business. Women represent the concept of honour for the men in the region, not getting much honour in return. There are numerous challenges faced by females born in a Pashtun tribal family. The reputation of the family depends on the woman’s behaviour. This disparity is obvious from the barring of females from the jirga (village council). In the existing situation, women carrying NIC registration are also unable to receive assistance as the men of the families have banned some from going out and the tribal elders (Maliks) have announced punishment for women going out to receive relief items even in shuttlecock burqas. There were neither any separate registration points for women, nor separate checking points facilitated by women volunteers.
At present, women and children IDPs are at a heightened risk. There are around 2,100 pregnant women registered as IDPs, having special health needs that are being ignored, lacking the protection formerly afforded by families and community. “I was three months pregnant when I came to Bannu and the doctors here charge Rs 5,000 for only a checkup, which we cannot afford,” says a female IDP from Mirali, North Waziristan.
Women and children are more prone to exploitation and abuse. Women and girls are often the systematic target of sexual violence. Children may be separated from those who care for them and put at risk of sexual abuse, exploitation and recruitment into armed groups. Their entire childhood may be disturbed with little access to education and few opportunities as they grow older to take on the usual roles and responsibilities of adulthood. While all these issues also affect refugees, research shows that internally displaced women and children usually fare even worse.
I got a chance to visit the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) IDP camp as they are solely focused on women and children. They have registered 100 pregnant women to be assisted and have so far provided them with clothes, cash and food supplies. They have provided space for widows, making it easy for them to receive assistance instead of going out. Such efforts by different political parties, NGOs and individuals are commendable but still not enough. In the past month, things have not been streamlined by the responsible government.
In order to overcome their problems, a NADRA counter for IDPs should be established in Bannu (NADRA office) and the process of obtaining CNICs should be simplified for women. There must be separate, culturally appropriate distribution points for women with female volunteers assisting them. The female IDPs have come in winter clothes and thick burqas, and are suffering the 42 degrees Celsius temperature of Bannu. Their specific needs, including summer clothes, hygienic items, shelter (tents) and food supplies need to be addressed. On the other hand, children IDPs are out of school, out in the heat of the barren land facing heat stroke, skin infections, etc. There must be child-friendly spaces set up to provide activities and educational facilities for children. Homelessness brings various serious psychological disorders that will result in the generation of a handicapped society. Psychological consultation and sessions must be held, especially for females and children, since they are most vulnerable to psychological disorders, to address the cognitive and psychoanalytical issues among them. This will also lead to confidence building and an optimistic approach towards life. Instead of keeping the IDPs in these camps for an uncertain period of time, the affected must be provided with some suitable economic resources for their living and to maintain their dignity and self-reliant independence. These issues are not to be taken lightly and we cannot afford to delay this further.
The writer works in the development sector