Pakistan expects up to 500,000 refugees from Swat

...a 29-year-old who manages a courier service on Karachi’s Korangi Road, keeps herself covered in a white chador while driving through the city these days. ‘I’m not taking any chances if the Taliban are here,’ she says, covering up her usual attire of jeans and a short top.

In recent weeks, women in Karachi have become increasingly wary of the threat posed by militants from the northern areas who have allegedly infiltrated the port city. Reports that Taliban commanders have relocated to Karachi for fear of drone attacks in Quetta** have coincided with a spate of incidents of female harassment.
In the past few weeks, upper- and middle-class women have been approached by men, bearded and otherwise, and warned not to leave the house without covering themselves from head to toe. In some cases, the harassers have been armed. In others, they have threatened women with physical attacks in the future if they do not change their ways. Another form of harassment entails the families of young women receiving letters on behalf of the Taliban. In the letters, fathers are told that they must reign in their daughters who are accused of roaming freely and wearing western outfits. Some businessmen have even been asked to make ‘donations’ to the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan in order to secure their daughters’ safety.

Despite the widespread panic that news of these threats has provoked, few women are willing to go on the record or register an official complaint. As a result, the extent of the threat posed to Karachi’s young women remains unclear.

......


Wilma, an employee at a five-star hotel in the centre of the city, says she was shopping with some friends on Tariq Road when a man approached one of them and threatened to throw acid at her if she didn’t dress properly in the future. ‘Girls wearing capri pants are especially being targeted,’ she says.



snip


Meanwhile, Shama Askari, a member of Tehrik-e-Niswan, is organising a group to petition the Sindh governor to set up a helpline where women can report cases in which they are threatened on account of their behaviour or attire. While such an initiative would be welcome, it will not prove effective until Karachi’s women are willing to speak out against the forces that might be trying to oppress them.



http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/metropolitan/09-karachis-women-persecuted-or-paranoid--03