Taliban Gone, Pakistani Region Yearns For Normal

[Robb]

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127909459">Taliban Gone, Pakistani Region Yearns For Normal (NPR)


Rukia Begum, 16, sits before a loom at a craft center in Islampur, a community that suffered tremendous damage at the hands of the Taliban.

One year ago, the Pakistani army launched a major offensive in the Swat Valley, near the border with Afghanistan. Taliban militants had seized the region and advanced into adjoining districts.

The Taliban came closer than ever before to Pakistan's heartland and the capital, Islamabad. The offensive to dislodge the militants forced more than 2 million Pakistanis from their homes.

The residents have returned, and Swat Valley is now rebuilding its shattered infrastructure and mending its frayed social fabric. No longer banished from public view by the Taliban's strict social code, women are weaving new lives — literally, in some cases.

With the help of the Karachi-based Heritage Foundation, widows and single mothers are learning to master looms and earn a living for the first time. With help from UNESCO, the program is offering females — from teenage girls to women in their 70s — the chance to learn the cherished art of Swati embroidery and make a livelihood.

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