PESHAWAR: Women belonging to different regions of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) have demanded of the government to abolish the Frontier Crimes Regulation and provide them with rights and facilities as enjoyed by the people of settled areas.

“The tribal women also suffer due to the black law of FCR like their men and children,” they said while speaking at a joint press conference in connection with Pakistan Day (March 23) at Peshawar Press Club on Tuesday. The conference was arranged under the aegis of Takra Qabaili Khwendi (brave tribal sisters), an NGO of women.

Ms Shahida Shah, the NGO’s convener, said that FCR was being misused in Fata where basic human rights were violated and people not given legal rights to raise voice for seeking justice.

Flanked by women from various tribal agencies, including Nausheen, Nasihat Bibi, Sakeena Rahman and Kanwal, Ms Shahida said that the tribal people had to spend lives as per wishes of the political administration as the FCR had deprived them of most of their rights.

Say people detained under the black law should be released

Condemning the clause of collective responsibility under the black law, she said that when someone belonging to a sub-tribe indulged in a crime the whole tribe was held responsible and even children were put behind bars.

“The misuse of the law directly affects lives of the women whenever men are jailed,”she lamented.

Mr Shahida said that March 23 was celebrated every year across the country to express happiness over the independence, but people in tribal regions still thought that they were not liberated. She said that FCR, which was imposed before independence, needed to be replaced with the law of the country.

Ms Nazish said that the women were suffering due to the recent arrest of 22 tribesmen of Sulemankhel under the black law. “The entire tribal population has been affected due to displacement, especially the women, children and senior citizens, and they needed to be rehabilitated as terrorists are on the run,” she said and asked the government to release all people detained under FCR.

Nasihat Bibi said that markets in Fata were closed under the FCR law and they were unable to manage daily chores at home. “Our children are out of school because of the worst poverty and facing hunger-like situation because of the closure of markets by political agent,” she said.

Ms Kanwal expressed her reservations about the presence of checkpoints on the main roads, saying tribal people were also Pakistanis and had the right to move freely.

Sanam Yaqoob, a minority girl from Khyber Agency, thanked the former governor for facilitating the non-Muslims to get domicile certificate. She also demanded of the incumbent governor to play his role for the development of Fata.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2016