Officials,civil society members say militancy and cultural taboos in Fata have restricted girls education

PESHAWAR: Officials and civil society members in Federally Administered Tribal Areas(FATA) have said that deep rooted militancy, military operations and culture taboos have restricted girls  to seek education in tribal areas.
All these views were expressed by the Fata education department officials,journalists and non-governmental organization employees while speaking in a day long  seminar held in Peshawsr on Wednesday. 
The seminar,organized by UNICEF with the collaboration of Khwendo Kor, was attended by Fata assistant Director Education, Noor Zali Khan ,Fata Director Sports and Culture , Faisal Jameel, Agency Education Officer(AEO) Atiqur Rehman.
The seminar was aimed to establish parents and teachers committee to promote girls education in Fata.
Participants urged  all stakeholders including  parents, community leaders, Fata officials, media men, civil society and others influentials to play their important role to achieve the goals and promote girls education. A group of different walks of life including schools' teachers was established.The group named " Working Group Girls Education Initiative (WGGEI) would work for the promotion of girls education in Fata.

ADE Fata  Noor Zali Khan said on the occasion that around 124,424 girls students were enrolled in Fata 1551 primary schools. He said 1,015 primary schools including 87 girls'primary schools in Fata  have no boundary walls while  1,316 boys and 583 girls’ schools in Fata have no drinking water facilities. The fata official said that they have made several efforts to increase girls education ratio from three percent to at least ten percent in Fata.
Atiq ur Rehman, AEO Khyber Agency,said cultural barriers,local taboos and lack of awareness were the impediments which had blocked girls education in Fata.He said mobilization and awareness were the main tools which could be used to bring change people's mind to get admit their girls in schools.
Atiq urged  media and civil society to create awareness via news reports on media to attract parents in order to get their children admit in schools.He said all the  government-run schools in war-torn area of Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency have been destroyed in ongoing insurgency. He said the remaining schools in Jamrud and Landikotal tehsils in Khyber Agency were  in poor condition.
Participants suggested  office bearers of non-profit organizations and government officials to involve religious scholars and other influentials in Fata to effectively participate in promoting girls education ratio in Fata.