Armed Conflict and Women's Agency: The Case of Swat, Pakistan

Women are generally portrayed as the helpless victims of armed conflicts. However, the consequences of such portrayal or essentialist representations prove very adverse for women's identity and agency. Rather than fully acknowledging women's courage and strength in civil conflicts and war situations, their role and voices are hidden and muffled. As a result, they are neither counted nor given any role in critical decision-making for the future. This study is aimed at retrieving women's agency in the context of Islamic militancy in the Swat region of Pakistan.