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1 2,000 women are to be literate bilingually in Swat-Kohistan Zubair Torwali In the Torwali community of the Kohistan in the idyllic

upper Swat district a unique and innovative literacy programme is currently being implemented by a nongovernmental indigenous organization, IBT, with the financial support of the United States Agency for International Development under its Small Grants and Ambassador Funds Programme. Torwali, a linguistic minority, is said to be originated from the pre-Muslim Dardic society in Swat. Torwali, like its sister Dardic communities in the region of Hindu Kush to the Himalayan ranges via Karakorum is endangered, in the sense that the language has so far been undocumented unscripted and unknown. IBT or Idara Baraye Taleem-o-Taraqi, which has been involved in documenting, promoting, revitalization and utilization of the indigenous minority languages in north Pakistan for the last five years, has conceived the unique literacy project named as Swat-Kohistan Women Education Project with multiple goals in sight. The project is both unique and new for most donors and implementing partners; and is said to be first of its kind in Pakistan. The Swat-Kohistan Women Education project was launched on March 1, 2013 at a large gathering held at a local hotel in Bahrain Swat. Hundreds of people participated in the inauguration ceremony along with the officials of district government and army. In a linguistic minority of hardly a hundred thousand speakers 2,000 women in three union councils in the area of Bahrain Swat will be educated in a year by establishing fifty Women Education Centers for them by native women as teachers and instructors. It is to be noted that literacy rate in female in the whole area is below 2 percent; schools for girls are far from sufficient; and among the existing schools more than eighty percent are virtually dysfunctional or ghost. The programme is innovative in the sense that the adult learners start literacy in the Torwali language they are grown with, exposed to; and have developed their thinking faculty in it. A well researched and tested curriculum in Torwali has been designed for the programme; and that is being used for the project in its initial phase of a year time span. Later on the learners are transitioned to the national language, Urdu, by a system of studies commonly known as bridging. Torwali has more sounds than Urdu and therefore more alphabets. The script developed for Torwali is the same as Urdu hasthe Perso-Arabic script. In this way the learners will go from known to unknown, from concrete to abstract; and this is the natural and effective way as the educationists and pedagogues tell us. The syllabus is designed in a way where non literacy subjects such as, cultural studies, ethics, and sociological and political issues are taught to the students.

2 The manager of the project Aftab Ahmad briefed the participants about the project: its goals and impacts. He numbered five major goals of the project as: First, it has to stop the language shift by utilizing Torwali language in reading and writing. Women are generally affiliated to their language and culture more than men do. The initiative will enable them to read and write their language. Once they achieve that they will be able to produce and revitalize the lexicon, topology, toponymastics and traditions of Torwali in written form. Educating these women means to expose them to unknown languages and traditions. The women in this case will also be literate in their own language and culture hence the chances of language or culture shift will get reduced. Secondly, there will be uplift in the confidence level of the native speakers. Whenever, they see their language and culture recognized the result would be more security and confidence. Thirdly, an increase in the enrollment of children, particularly, of female children at the existing schools is anticipated. A number of recent study cases by the community movers of the project indicates the demand for new schools for girls increasing in the villages along with much anxiety at the closure of many schools. Fourthly, an attitudinal change within the family system is the aim. In many rural areas in this part of the country the men are usually so engrossed in the provision of daily bread that they have lost any interest in rearing their offspring as the need is. Being responsible for managing the family the women can play a greater role in investing on future. Prioritizing education within the family will be a significant impact of the initiative. Lastly, by employing 70 women as instructors in the project, the IP and its donor, have already taken a big step forward for the self-reliance of women. Almost all the educated women in the Torwali community are employed by the project. This has already started to move the fathers and brothers to rethink their position on women education. Mr. Aftab further elaborated the impacts as: The project has already achieved some of its goals. In the union councils of Balakot and Mankiyal 100 percent educated women have been employed by the project while in the third union council, Bahrain the number is almost 50 percent. He further stated that a behavioral change among the people towards female education was observed. Women are now sending their kids to schools and enrollment at the schools is increasing. The Women Learners at the established centers are practicing reading and writing and they are seen enjoying to practice their signatures at homes even though the centers have been lately started. 18,000 books in Torwali have been published for the project.

3 Executive Director IBT, Zubair Torwali, told the audience in his welcome remarks that the linguistic communities in north Pakistan demand similar initiatives for them. He requested the donors to kindly look for innovative projects, too, as they will surely have long and sustaining impacts on the lives of the marginalized people. Mr. Zubair termed the Swat Kohistan Women Education Project as a small endeavor from their side to drive away the encroaching and terrible dark in the particular target community because lighting a candle is better than wailing the long and perpetual dark gripping the society. A beneficiary Wazir Kaka, whose daughter has been employed by the project, said, When I used to hire a tutor for my daughter to get education beyond grade 5 th the people nearby would laugh at me and told I was wasting my money. Now as my daughter serves the community with a decent teaching job in the project the same people pine if they had their daughter educated, too. Khan Saeed, a social and political worker of the area narrated how the project has helped destitute women to live a decent life. He narrated a number of incidents where the women took timely care of their children due to this project. Our area is the abode of uncountable problems. We live a miserable life whereas our problems get doubled with each day, said Abdul Jalil, Coordinator Swat Kohistan Qaumi Jirga, In such circumstances we see hopes in such initiatives. He urged the people to maximize the benefits of this historic project by ensuring the attendance of the women to the established Women Education Centers. Addressing the gathering the Assistant Commissioner of Bahrain Sub-Division Mr. Muhammad Naeem Khan told that the government is keen to solve many of the problems of the people but unfortunately Swat had recently been through the worst crisis and it will take time to be completely out of the trauma. He appreciated the role of civil society and urged them to come forward for a public-private partnership. Mr. Naeem said that the district government would always have a cooperative hand with the people for the development of the area. The ceremony was also attended by army officials. Commandant Officer of the region Col Rifattullah addressed the gathering and told that the area is the paradise on earth. He further told that the army had not spared any efforts to work for the development and rehabilitation of the area. Since army is here the road to Kalam was never left closed for more than a day because of the snowfall and avalanches. He informed the people that the army had sent a number of projects for the area and hopefully many of them would be carried out. The Kalam Summer Festival is one of the many projects army is patronizing and it has impressively boosted the local economy of the inhabitants. Col Rifattulla lauded the project and said he was pleasantly surprised to find such people and institutions in this far flung area, mostly ignored by mainstream Pakistan.

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