PEACE BUILDING IN CONFLICTING AREAS

(PBCA)

Conflict Resolution & Violence Prevention

With a population approximating 180 million people, Pakistan is a country accommodating diverse ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups.  Recent years have brought immense suffering to the people of Pakistan through a prolonged internal conflict.  The effects of the conflict are felt throughout Pakistan but the epicenter lies in the semi-autonomous Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. Terrorist attacks staged in Pakistan are estimated to have killed more than 27,000 people between 2011 and 2016, including more than 16,000 in KP and FATA.  The impacts of internal conflict were particularly devastating for youth and women. Yet, even though over 30 percent of Pakistan’s population is between 15 and 29 years of age, these groups have been largely overlooked in the limited development work carried out in strife-affected areas.

In the face of large-scale problems that confound traditional solutions, existing social fabric is damaged, with respect for elders and their ability to make wise decisions, manage crises, and care for public welfare degraded. This exacerbates intergenerational tensions and results in disengaged, cynical youths with few constructive pathways to a better future. Lack of opportunities for socio-economic uplift and constructive community engagement thus increase the inclination of young people to be involved in armed violence and conflict.

Similarly, conservative patriarchal norms which strictly regulate women’s mobility and limit them to the domestic sphere have been aggravated by obscurantist narratives that provide ideological underpinnings to terrorist violence.  The deaths of male family members in conflict bring further social and economic hardships for women who are already trying to cope with the economic impacts of conflicts. 

Thus, a major challenge (or missed opportunity) in tackling the impacts of internal conflicts is the lack of wider participation of youth and women in development initiatives, especially those pertaining to peacebuilding. If facilitating resources and structures are in place, these groups can contribute enormously to building community resilience.   For instance, FBRC believes that involvement in peacebuilding can offer much-needed opportunities for positive engagement to youth, who can work for the safety and security of their communities by sharing their knowledge and skills with others.  Similarly, female engagement can be especially beneficial at two levels.  First, as domestic gatekeepers, women are primarily responsible for children, who are extremely vulnerable to the impacts of violence. Second, involvement in peacebuilding interventions can give women opportunities to expand their roles beyond the domestic sphere and engage with other community members.