A delegation of newly elected lady councillors from Fata called on Begum Shamim Iftikhar, wife of the NWFP Governor here at Governor House on Friday. The delegation comprising Begum Zeenat Anjam of Mohmand Agency, Begum Perveen Zaman, Suraya Kanwal Afridi and Miss Shaheena Jan of Khyber Agency discussed problems of the womenfolk in Fata.
Talking to the delegation Begum Shamim Iftikhar congratulated the women councillors on their election to the first ever formed elected bodies of tribal areas saying that the women representation in the Agency Councils would not only give impetus to the status of women in the particular social environment of Fata but would also broaden the overall outlook about women in the tribal areas.
She said that opening of new avenues for the womenfolk in Fata would also go a long way in mitigating the suffering of Fata women. She was pleased that the newly elected councillors were mostly educated and hoped that their presence in the Agency Councils would create awareness about the women education in Fata thus helps in raising the literacy rate which is pathetically low in Fata.
Begum Shamim Iftikhar said that the credit of introducing grass root democratic and representative bodies in Fata certainly goes to the President General Pervez Musharraf who is keenly interested to bring these hitherto neglected areas at par with other parts of the country.
She said that formation of Agency Councils in Fata was an encouraging as well as revolutionary step in a sense that the women have also being given due representation and it would put far reaching effects on the overall socio economic condition of Fata. "It would also help in throwing away a particular type of impression created about the tribal areas and would remove all the misunderstanding in this regard.
She said that we have entered the 21st century where we cannot afford to keep half of our population totally ignorant and oblivious to the national development endeavours. "We must educate the womenfolk in Fata for which the government is utilising all the resources", she said and hoped that the Fata women councillors would play effective role in persuading the new generation towards education.
Members of the delegation while thanking the Begum Governor for actively taking interest in the welfare of the women of NWFP and Fata assured her full cooperation in these efforts.