Gendering Human Security: Women's Experiences of Militancy in Pakistan

Abstract

The advent of militancy in NWFP changed the social, political and security dynamics of the conflict-affected communities, especially in the Swat Valley of Pakistan. The scholarship has largely looked at militancy from the state-centered and military lens, with comparatively less focus on the impact of conflict on women and human security. This study unfolds the gendered aspects of human security by considering the voices of women impacted by militancy in Swat, KP (Pakistan). The study is based on qualitative oral history interviews with women who have been affected by the conflict and experienced militant violence, military operations and internal displacement; examining the impact of conflict on various aspects of human security, such as personal security, educational security, economic security, health security, community security and political security. The research is conducted in a qualitative interpretivist paradigm, with the use of qualitative oral history as the main method of research, recording women experiences being the witness and victims of militancy prior to, during and after militancy in the Swat region. The results show that women's insecurities were not limited to being exposed to armed violence. Militancy impacted access to education, healthcare, livelihoods and social institutions, and exacerbated psychological trauma, economic hardship and mobility restrictions. Resilience became the strategy of survival for these women. Based on the findings, the study proposes that sustainable peace cannot be ensured without the implementation of policies that tackle the wider aspects of human security.