On January 15, girls’ schools in the district closed down on an edict from the Tehrik-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi, the Swat chapter of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. The TNSM is headed by Maulana Fazlullah, also known as Mullah Radio after the FM station he has illegally run for nearly three years, using it to preach an extreme interpretation of Islam. An estimated 80,000 girls have had their education cut off. The government declared an extended winter vacation and has promised to reopen the schools by March 1. But with 183 schools blown up — including five on Monday — the promise seems unbelievable. Even if the schools reopen, there will be no teachers because under the de facto Taliban rule in Swat, women cannot work.
The Taliban has ordered that women should not step out of home unescorted by a male family member. Shopkeepers have been told not to sell goods to unescorted women. In Mingora, main town in Swat, an area known as Green Square has been renamed “khooni chowk” (blood square) or “chowk zibakhana” (slaughterhouse square) after the daily stringing up of two or three bodies of people seen to have defied the Taliban, even for mild criticism in a private conversation.
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5:24 AM
Moderate Islamist here
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