Woman with Gloria Steinem (2016–…): Season 1, Episode 8 - Pakistan: On the Frontlines - full transcript
Extremist violence in Pakistan is profoundly affecting the female population. We explore how women are responding to the threat and empowering themselves to create positive change.
I've traveled the world
as a writer
and an activist
for my entire life.
What we are talking
about is a revolution.
We are the women that
our parents warned us about.
And I can tell you that
by confronting the problems
once marginalized
as women's issues,
we can tackle
the greatest dangers
of the 21st Century.
Pakistan
Behind every major crisis,
there's an unseen factor
at play,
a story you've never been told.
The greatest indicator
of the world's stability,
wealth, and safety
is the status of women.
Whenever religious
fundamentalist groups
come into political power,
the equality of women
is threatened.
In Pakistan, the Taliban
has controlled wide swaths
of tribal land for decades.
They use violence and terror
to assert male dominance
over women in ways that permeate
every facet of society.
We traveled along the border
with Afghanistan to learn
how this religious tide
is affecting the lives
of millions of women.
**
Grand Karachi, my hometown,
which is the largest city
of Pakistan,
has a population
of over 20 million.
Um, it's also possibly
the most liberal city
of the country.
Yet as a Pakistani woman,
over the last decade or so,
I've noticed a huge
cultural shift
after the rise of the Taliban
that oppresses
and marginalizes women.
But it hasn't always
been like this.
Our constitution ensures
that women have
equal rights to men
and outlaws gender
discrimination.
All we are interested
in is peace and stability.
In 1988, we even
elected Benazir Bhutto
to be the first female leader
of Muslim Nation.
But the tribal areas
that stretch along Pakistan's
1,500-mile border
with Afghanistan
have become
a hotbed of extremism
that threatens all of Pakistan.
We're traveling
to the borderlands now
to see how this violence started
and how women are suffering
and fighting against it.
In the mid-1990s,
the Taliban seized power
in neighboring Afghanistan.
When U.S.-led coalition forces
toppled the regime after 9/11,
the Taliban moved
across the border
into Pakistan's
semiautonomous FATA,
or Federally Administered
Tribal Area.
The mountainous region
is largely governed
by traditional tribal law
and already sheltered
other extremist groups.
Because of ongoing
military operations aimed
at eradicating
the militants in FATA,
thousands of civilians
from this region
have been pushed into refugee
camps like this one.
Even though some of the women
have agreed to speak to us,
where the men haven't let
the women leave their homes.
Right now, we're just
trying to get access.
Despite the risk,
we found a woman
willing to speak to us
while her husband was away.
We've been trying to get stories
from women over here.
And we found it very difficult.
Women don't want to come forward
and talk to us
because they're scared.
What are they scared of?
How did life for women change
after the Taliban
took over your area?
Okay.
And we had to cut
the interview short
because, the woman
who was speaking with us
hadn't told her husband
that she's going to be
giving an interview.
Um, and it was almost time
for her husband to come home.
She was really scared.
So we obviously had to wrap up.
Speaking to us without
the permission of her husband
puts this woman at risk
because the vast majority
of these refugees
adhere to a cultural
and semireligious practice
called purdah.
Purdah literally means
"curtain" or "covering."
But the practice also dictates
how a woman behaves in society.
In its most liberal from,
purdah simply implies
a loose covering
for women in public.
But in this
ultraconservative region
under the influence
of the Taliban,
women must wear what's known
as a full shuttlecock burqa.
They have limited interaction
with the world
outside of their home
and can't leave it
without the permission
of a male family member.
Lawyer and human-rights
activist Rukhshanda Naz
explains how subjugating women
is actually a terror tactic
used by militant extremists
to maintain power.
By restricting
and persecuting women,
militant extremists have
created a culture of fear
that destabilizes communities
and makes them
easier to control.
It's hard to understand
why it's so important to men
that women remain
covered and secluded.
I'm in the Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa province
at a community center
for displaced people.
Here, I meet two men
from North Waziristan,
a Taliban stronghold where
purdah is strictly enforced.
Throughout the borderlands,
militant Islamists turn
their extreme interpretation
of the Quran into laws
that subjugate women.
But even in this region,
there are places
where women are pushing
the limits imposed on them.
Rukhsana Jabeen is
the Vice Chancellor
of Sardar
Bahadur Khan University,
where women from even
the most conservative families
can get an education.
Located in Quetta,
capital of the volatile
Balochistan province,
it's one of the few places
where women are free
to shed their purdah.
But in 2013, the safety
of the university was violated
when a bus filled
with university students
was bombed by a militant
extremist group
targeting girls
from a minority sect.
For these women,
just pursuing an education
comes with great risks.
They know that the reason
they've been targeted is
because an educated woman
is a threat
to the existing power structure.
But they refuse to become
victims of this violence.
They've taken ownership
of their fate.
They're challenging their fate.
And they're using education
to change their future.
Women along Pakistan's
border with Afghanistan
are fighting
the religious extremism
that has overtaken the region.
Some by getting an education
and others through
a more unconventional approach
that defies gender norms
in their culture.
We're on the way to Hangu now,
which borders with
the Federally Administered
Tribal Areas in Pakistan.
The streets are really isolated,
and you will hardly
see any cars.
It's an area that's rarely
visited by journalists
because it's considered
too dangerous to get to.
We've just entered
the police academy in Hangu.
We are here to meet
Shahzadi Gillani,
who is the highest-ranking
female officer
to ever serve in this
conservative province.
Since her family adheres
to strict purdah culture,
Shahzadi has had
to give up everything
to be a police officer.
Although her parents eventually
accepted Shahzadi's decision,
her job has done her job
as extended family.
Even though she is a commander,
Shahzadi cannot
leave the compound
because she is a woman
and it would be too dangerous.
Instead of being
active in the field,
she's limited to teaching
antiterrorism measures
to officers in training.
Although she is confined
to the academy,
Shahzadi believes she is
making a difference.
In order to play
such a high-ranking role
in the fight against terrorism,
Shahzadi has had
to make sacrifices.
But the next generation
of police women
answering the call to serve
are finding ways
to fight extremism
without giving up
their purdah culture.
The escort's just arrived.
So now we're gonna head to
the Elite Force training center.
Today, a new generation
of women are devoting their lives
to defending Pakistan
against religious extremism
by becoming commandos
in a specialized
antiterrorist squad
run by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
police department.
After 9 months of training
that includes
hostage negotiation...
...heavy-weapons firing...
...and hand-to-hand combat,
these women will be sent out
on raids
of urban terrorist hideouts.
Wow.
These women are transcending
the societal limits dictated
by their gender
while still honoring
their purdah culture.
As a result, women are now seen
as an asset
in the war against terror.
Pakistan!
The lives of so many women
that we've encountered
throughout this journey
have been affected by conflict.
The struggles that
we've seen of people
who have been displaced,
people who have lost loved ones,
those are the stories
that actually form
the fabric of society now.
But they say that when a country
is affected by conflict
and by war, the communities
that have long-been
suppressed begin to rise.
And you are seeing that
with women in Pakistan.
The most striking part
of these stories
is that all of the women
we filmed were taking a risk
simply by speaking to us.
That's because their voices
alone are a threat.
It's a powerful reminder
that women are the best weapon
against oppression.
Those who not only
demand change,
but who become it
through their own courageous
words and actions.
To support women's rights
in Pakistan,
**
as a writer
and an activist
for my entire life.
What we are talking
about is a revolution.
We are the women that
our parents warned us about.
And I can tell you that
by confronting the problems
once marginalized
as women's issues,
we can tackle
the greatest dangers
of the 21st Century.
Pakistan
Behind every major crisis,
there's an unseen factor
at play,
a story you've never been told.
The greatest indicator
of the world's stability,
wealth, and safety
is the status of women.
Whenever religious
fundamentalist groups
come into political power,
the equality of women
is threatened.
In Pakistan, the Taliban
has controlled wide swaths
of tribal land for decades.
They use violence and terror
to assert male dominance
over women in ways that permeate
every facet of society.
We traveled along the border
with Afghanistan to learn
how this religious tide
is affecting the lives
of millions of women.
**
Grand Karachi, my hometown,
which is the largest city
of Pakistan,
has a population
of over 20 million.
Um, it's also possibly
the most liberal city
of the country.
Yet as a Pakistani woman,
over the last decade or so,
I've noticed a huge
cultural shift
after the rise of the Taliban
that oppresses
and marginalizes women.
But it hasn't always
been like this.
Our constitution ensures
that women have
equal rights to men
and outlaws gender
discrimination.
All we are interested
in is peace and stability.
In 1988, we even
elected Benazir Bhutto
to be the first female leader
of Muslim Nation.
But the tribal areas
that stretch along Pakistan's
1,500-mile border
with Afghanistan
have become
a hotbed of extremism
that threatens all of Pakistan.
We're traveling
to the borderlands now
to see how this violence started
and how women are suffering
and fighting against it.
In the mid-1990s,
the Taliban seized power
in neighboring Afghanistan.
When U.S.-led coalition forces
toppled the regime after 9/11,
the Taliban moved
across the border
into Pakistan's
semiautonomous FATA,
or Federally Administered
Tribal Area.
The mountainous region
is largely governed
by traditional tribal law
and already sheltered
other extremist groups.
Because of ongoing
military operations aimed
at eradicating
the militants in FATA,
thousands of civilians
from this region
have been pushed into refugee
camps like this one.
Even though some of the women
have agreed to speak to us,
where the men haven't let
the women leave their homes.
Right now, we're just
trying to get access.
Despite the risk,
we found a woman
willing to speak to us
while her husband was away.
We've been trying to get stories
from women over here.
And we found it very difficult.
Women don't want to come forward
and talk to us
because they're scared.
What are they scared of?
How did life for women change
after the Taliban
took over your area?
Okay.
And we had to cut
the interview short
because, the woman
who was speaking with us
hadn't told her husband
that she's going to be
giving an interview.
Um, and it was almost time
for her husband to come home.
She was really scared.
So we obviously had to wrap up.
Speaking to us without
the permission of her husband
puts this woman at risk
because the vast majority
of these refugees
adhere to a cultural
and semireligious practice
called purdah.
Purdah literally means
"curtain" or "covering."
But the practice also dictates
how a woman behaves in society.
In its most liberal from,
purdah simply implies
a loose covering
for women in public.
But in this
ultraconservative region
under the influence
of the Taliban,
women must wear what's known
as a full shuttlecock burqa.
They have limited interaction
with the world
outside of their home
and can't leave it
without the permission
of a male family member.
Lawyer and human-rights
activist Rukhshanda Naz
explains how subjugating women
is actually a terror tactic
used by militant extremists
to maintain power.
By restricting
and persecuting women,
militant extremists have
created a culture of fear
that destabilizes communities
and makes them
easier to control.
It's hard to understand
why it's so important to men
that women remain
covered and secluded.
I'm in the Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa province
at a community center
for displaced people.
Here, I meet two men
from North Waziristan,
a Taliban stronghold where
purdah is strictly enforced.
Throughout the borderlands,
militant Islamists turn
their extreme interpretation
of the Quran into laws
that subjugate women.
But even in this region,
there are places
where women are pushing
the limits imposed on them.
Rukhsana Jabeen is
the Vice Chancellor
of Sardar
Bahadur Khan University,
where women from even
the most conservative families
can get an education.
Located in Quetta,
capital of the volatile
Balochistan province,
it's one of the few places
where women are free
to shed their purdah.
But in 2013, the safety
of the university was violated
when a bus filled
with university students
was bombed by a militant
extremist group
targeting girls
from a minority sect.
For these women,
just pursuing an education
comes with great risks.
They know that the reason
they've been targeted is
because an educated woman
is a threat
to the existing power structure.
But they refuse to become
victims of this violence.
They've taken ownership
of their fate.
They're challenging their fate.
And they're using education
to change their future.
Women along Pakistan's
border with Afghanistan
are fighting
the religious extremism
that has overtaken the region.
Some by getting an education
and others through
a more unconventional approach
that defies gender norms
in their culture.
We're on the way to Hangu now,
which borders with
the Federally Administered
Tribal Areas in Pakistan.
The streets are really isolated,
and you will hardly
see any cars.
It's an area that's rarely
visited by journalists
because it's considered
too dangerous to get to.
We've just entered
the police academy in Hangu.
We are here to meet
Shahzadi Gillani,
who is the highest-ranking
female officer
to ever serve in this
conservative province.
Since her family adheres
to strict purdah culture,
Shahzadi has had
to give up everything
to be a police officer.
Although her parents eventually
accepted Shahzadi's decision,
her job has done her job
as extended family.
Even though she is a commander,
Shahzadi cannot
leave the compound
because she is a woman
and it would be too dangerous.
Instead of being
active in the field,
she's limited to teaching
antiterrorism measures
to officers in training.
Although she is confined
to the academy,
Shahzadi believes she is
making a difference.
In order to play
such a high-ranking role
in the fight against terrorism,
Shahzadi has had
to make sacrifices.
But the next generation
of police women
answering the call to serve
are finding ways
to fight extremism
without giving up
their purdah culture.
The escort's just arrived.
So now we're gonna head to
the Elite Force training center.
Today, a new generation
of women are devoting their lives
to defending Pakistan
against religious extremism
by becoming commandos
in a specialized
antiterrorist squad
run by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
police department.
After 9 months of training
that includes
hostage negotiation...
...heavy-weapons firing...
...and hand-to-hand combat,
these women will be sent out
on raids
of urban terrorist hideouts.
Wow.
These women are transcending
the societal limits dictated
by their gender
while still honoring
their purdah culture.
As a result, women are now seen
as an asset
in the war against terror.
Pakistan!
The lives of so many women
that we've encountered
throughout this journey
have been affected by conflict.
The struggles that
we've seen of people
who have been displaced,
people who have lost loved ones,
those are the stories
that actually form
the fabric of society now.
But they say that when a country
is affected by conflict
and by war, the communities
that have long-been
suppressed begin to rise.
And you are seeing that
with women in Pakistan.
The most striking part
of these stories
is that all of the women
we filmed were taking a risk
simply by speaking to us.
That's because their voices
alone are a threat.
It's a powerful reminder
that women are the best weapon
against oppression.
Those who not only
demand change,
but who become it
through their own courageous
words and actions.
To support women's rights
in Pakistan,
**