NGO women workers to be banished from Kohistan, warn clerics

BISHAM: A group of clerics in the Pattan area of Lower Kohistan district on Saturday said that they would not allow the mingling of women workers of non-government organizations (NGOs) with their male colleagues.

Issuing a warning, the clerics said that they would facilitate marriage of such single women NGO workers with their male colleagues.

They said the Sharia law did not allow mingling of women with “Na mahram” men.

They said married NGO workers would be banished from the area and unmarried ones would be forcibly married to their male colleagues. A local cleric, Maulana Karimdad, issued the warning on his Facebook account. He is said to be the son of former Member National Assembly from Kohistan Maulana Abdul Haleem, who had also issued a similar decree against the NGOs. It may be mentioned that Unicef, Pakistan Red Crescent and a couple of other local and international NGOs are working in Kohistan. The warning has triggered a heated debate on the social media. Many people have criticized the so-called ban. When contacted, Assistant Commission, Pattan, Mohammad Bilal, dismissed the warning and said the district administration would not allow the clerics to enforce it.