Six years ago, Wagma Feroz, a young graduate from Peshawar University, organised a group of young students to work as volunteers in the social sector. In just two years, she launched an ambitious street theatre project. “With my colleague, Momin Khan, we formed a group of seven young students — three girls and four boys — and set ourselves some targets.” Feroz says. With her father’s support, she bravely tackles the anger and displeasure of her neighbours and close relatives in Mohmand tribal agency. “It is something totally new for my family and our rigid tribal set-up but my father has stood behind me to enable me to materialise my dream.”

Since 2012 Feroz’s volunteer organisation ‘Da Tor Saro Saadar’ (Chador for women) has conducted around 400 different activities and staged interactive street theatre in Swat, Mardan, Peshawar, Kohat, Charsadda and Mohmand tribal agency.

In order to create a positive public response, she wanted to present grave social issues to people in an appealing manner and interactive street theatre seemed to be the best option. “My father sent me to Sri Lanka for training in acting from an international art organisation,” she says. “Later I became a master trainer along with 12 other young students from KP and began my work to highlight problems of child marriage, domestic violence, the harassment of women at work places, the role of women in peace and civic education, for which we received tremendous response,” she smiles as she recounts her achievements.

“Arranging a theatre-play on child marriage in my hometown, Mohmand agency, was the most challenging.”

Over the last few years, a number of volunteer youth organisations have sprung up in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Another big achievement was highlighting the harassment faced by female nurses. “For the first time in the history of KP, we brought forth this issue and involved actual nurses to play the roles of victims,” she says. “So far we have trained about 50 student volunteers across the province who arrange interactive theatre-plays in different districts every month. They spare their time and money to highlight local issues and even organise theatre-plays in educational institutions across KP to create awareness on youth issues,” Feroz explains.

Over the last few years, a number of volunteer youth organisations have emerged in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) to address a variety of social and cultural issues. Many educated, young men and women spend their time and money to organise events such as interactive street theatre, study circles, seminars, dialogue forums and musical concerts.

Since several years, another volunteer organisation ‘Hunar Kor’ (Home of Art) has been working in Swat for the revival of art and culture. Around 40 student volunteer members of the Hunar Kor are trying to revive, promote and preserve local art, music and literature as well as peace initiatives. The organisation has members in Karachi, Afghanistan and Peshawar where they conduct cultural and literary activities.

“Our organisation started an anti-toy gun campaign in Malakand region, followed by Swat and then in other districts of KP,” says Amjad Shahzad, a young poet, artist and head of Hunar Kor. “Our basic objective has remained mobilisation of the masses to work for revival of art and to promote peace in the region.”

Hunar Kor arranges training sessions for young students to learn different forms of performing and visual arts. “My younger sister, Brekhna Shahzad, head of our women’s wing, works on women empowerment and children’s education,” says Shahzad. “Together with young artists, artisans, writers, sculptors, actors and musicians she regularly organise events. There are art classes for the physically challenged and the women’s wing has recently published six books in Pushto. Our work emphasises inculcating a love for peace and we believe in taking away guns from the youth and replacing them with books and pens. Our efforts bore fruit last year when the KP government imposed a ban on toy guns.”

Two years ago another organisation The ‘Da Ranra Malgari’ (DRM) (Friends of Enlightenment) was launched to strengthen people-to-people contact and create awareness across the Durand Line for better peace initiatives. Azfarul-Mulk Afghan, a young university graduate heads the DRM which has arranged several cultural and literary activities in district Shangla and Peshawar. Regular dialogue forums are held with poets, writers, intellectuals, journalists and social scientists who are invited to deliver seminars on peace initiatives and political issues between Islamabad and Kabul.

“We want to encourage experts to spread enlightenment among educated youth across the border and every member is supposed to contribute to peace efforts at a personal level,” he says.

Sidra Gul, a student and a DRM member, explains that the organisation also has a well-trained performing troupe that does theatre-plays around Pakhtun culture, peace, tolerance, pluralism and education.

Abdur Rauf Youfazai, a peace activist has been affiliated with Aaghaz-i-Dosti since its launch in 2012, tells us: “Our goal is to enhance relations among the people.” He further explains, “Aaghaz-i-Dosti endeavours to become a medium for discovering and recognising the misrepresented reality on the other side of the border. It is focused on citizen diplomacy and works primarily through peace education aimed at familiarising people with each other. It is important to educate them about the issues of conflict and the existence of diverse views by developing critical thinking and faith in dialogue and peace-building for conflict resolution.”

A number of students are involved in this peace initiative. “We conduct sessions and other activities such as an art contest among school kids in Peshawar to address local issues as well,” he adds.

Jamil Ahmad Chitrali, who teaches anthro­pology at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies at the Peshawar University, believes that the youth should be engaged in various positive activities so that they could channelise their energy and strength for the welfare of the society.

“The youth should be sensitised about issues related to peace, gender, rights and environment. In KP, the involvement of several volunteer youth organisations in healthy activities to address social issues is symbolic of the society moving towards its revival through self-help,” he declares, happily.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine February 12th, 2017