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http://www.rferl.org/content/pakistan-woman-courage-sisters-council/26935247.html
Pakistan-Swat – Woman of Courage Award for Forming All-Women Tribal Council & Defending Rights
In the
face of considerable opposition, Pakistani mother of four Tabassum Adnan took
the bold step of establishing a tribal council of women in the deeply
conservative Swat Valley.
April 2, 2015 - Tabassum Adnan wants women to stand up
for their rights.
That's a dangerous message to send where she comes from
-- Pakistan's Swat Valley. And that's the reason she was just awarded the U.S.
Secretary Of State's International Women of Courage Award.
RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal caught up with the 38-year-old
mother of four upon her return from Washington, and spoke to her about her
groundbreaking work and plans for the future.
She rose to prominence in Swat in 2013, when she broke
with tradition by forming Pakistan's first all-women jirga, or tribal council.
Tradition held that membership in a jirga was reserved
for male elders, who met to settle local disputes and grievances. Decisions
were often made without the presence of women.
Her answer was to form the 25-member Khwendo Jirga, or
the Sisters' Council.
"In our society, women are not allowed to
participate in a jirga.," Adnan said on April 1. "So I challenged the
set norms for my rights, for the rights of our women, and for the rights of
every oppressed person."
Although the idea initially faced opposition, the Khwendo
Jirga gained acceptance after it brought culprits to justice in a child-rape
case in a Swat village in 2014.
"We have since resolved a number of cases and helped
a number of people," Adnan said, noting that the council has successfully
intervened in blood feuds calling for the exchange of women, the sale of girls
into marriage, murder cases, and situations involving the trafficking of women.
The Khwendo Jirga also advocates women's access to
education and health care, and supports their right to vote.
Adnan's own story is one of perseverance. She was a child
bride, married off by her family at the age of 13. Adnan divorced her husband
20 years later after suffering two decades of domestic abuse.
She had approached male jirgas to seek justice for the
violence she suffered, but was unsuccessful. But from that rejection was born
her idea to create her own jirga.
-- Farangis Najibullah, based on an interview by RFE/RL
Radio Mashaal correspondent Niaz Khan