PESHAWAR: Walls in Bara sub-division of Khyber district that had witnessed a number of terrorist attacks in the past almost two decades are being decorated with colourful paintings in an effort to promote girls’ education.
A number of schools, mosques, offices, bazaars and other public places in the Khyber district adjacent to Peshawar witnessed bomb, rocket and gun attacks since 2007 that claimed hundreds of lives.
The attacks affected the education, especially that of girls, as innumerable parents stopped sending their daughters to schools following frequent bombing of educational institutions. To encourage children and parents to send their daughters to school without any fear, walls in Khyber that were pockmarked with holes from rocket, bomb and gun attacks are being decorated with colourful paintings.
The paintings will promote education, especially for girls, and give a message that life goes on amid challenges and hurdles.In one painting in Bara bazaar, two girls along with a young boy are going to school in the morning. A verse in the background says ‘tell the killer that girls are going to school in the morning and let him know that life will go on as per routine in the city whatever the challenges are’.
“Many places in Bara were damaged by bombs, bullets, rocket launchers and artillery shells. We are converting it into paintings. Many more paintings are in process in places that were hit hard,” District Police Officer (DPO), Khyber, Saleem Abbas Kulachi told The News.
He added the paintings were being painted in areas which have more signs of the past attacks. The Khyber police chief said there are many schools in the area so they did not want children to see the marks of terrorism as it affected their mental health.
“The paintings will give a message that education, which is the best weapon of a common man and woman against militants in this war, will continue. Our schools will remain open and our children will keep going to schools,” said Saleem Abbas.
He added Bara experienced acts of subversions during the war against terrorism.An official said it not only had a disastrous impact on the minds and general life of the locals but also its infrastructure, which regularly reminded the locals of the catastrophe that they went through.
“We tried to show our commitment towards not only fighting militancy but also removing the very signs of it,” he added.Tens of thousands of girls were deprived of education when their parents stopped them from going to school after innumerable educational institutions were bombed and torched in different districts of KP in the last almost two decades. The situation, however, improved in recent years.Recently, bombing of two girls schools in North and South Waziristan has once again caused concern among the locals as well as the authorities.
