Pakistan, Peshawar: Voices from behind the veil

Inside their veiled compounds, women mumble and feet shuffle as they enjoy the only privacy they have in the sprawling Kacha Garhi camp in Peshawar that houses more than 6,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) fleeing the fighting in north-west Pakistan’s tribal and border areas between government troops and militants.

[...] While the purdah [veil, in the local Urdu language] preserves their modesty in this traditional society, it could also hide the women’s concerns and needs. UNHCR – as the lead UN agency for shelter, protection, camp coordination and management in this IDP operation – has identified privacy as an urgent protection issue and distributed plastic rolls to surround each block of 10 tents, securing purdah and free movement around the tents.

[...] “My baby has diarrhoea and keeps vomiting,” says Aziza*, in her 20s, [a displaced woman from Bajaur, one of seven agencies in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) bordering Afghanistan]. “We saw the camp doctor but there’s no improvement. We can’t afford to send him to the hospital.”

[...] Sanitation is also a challenge despite the construction of separate latrines to cater to the special needs of women. “We don’t go in the daytime – it’s crowded and difficult with the burqa. We go at night with a flashlight,” says Aziza. A generator has been installed for night-time lighting.

* Names changed for protection reasons.

Source: Vivian Tan, UNHCR, 05 Nov 2008