Development in crisis : livelihoods and social complexities in Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Year: 2016
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Global socio-economic development strategies, fast communication systems, and natural and\nmanmade disasters have put constructed social and cultural notions of developing societies into\ncontinuous processes of change. This study explores societal change in the Swat valley of Khyber\nPakhtunkhwa KPK, Pakistan in light of two interlinked processes: how livelihood development\nprojects and their implementation strategies since 2001 have influenced gender relations, and how the\nconflict as well as flood crises (2008–2010) have affected the social and cultural system of the\npukhtoonwali (a code of ethics). The study addresses the following four objectives in individual but\ninterrelated papers, where gender and development, gender relations in livelihood and development,\nand social cultural transformation in the context of crisis are central:\n1) To analyse how men and women of different ethnic and social groups access livelihood resources,\nand how the gender relations in pursuing livelihood strategies changed during the last decade in Swat\nvalley. 2) to study how the development project interventions, humanitarian aid, and their\nimplementation processes (approaches) contributed to gender empowerment and livelihood\ndevelopment of marginalized classes. 3) to explore how the consequences of militant conflicts,\nmilitary operations and internal displacement have influenced the social and cultural network of\npukhtoonwali in the Swat valley, and 4) to examine the social, cultural and political constraints in\nthe implementation of development projects, and the influence of crises on participatory development.\nPrimary data was collected using mixed qualitative research methods of semi-structured interviews,\nparticipant observation, informal interviews, and household survey and focus group discussions with\nselected village dwellers. Key informant interviews with traditional leaders, government and Non-\nGovernmental Organization officials, and academic researchers selected from different parts of Swat\nwere also conducted. In addition, secondary sources such as project appraisal and completion reports,\nhistorical literature and NGO progress reports have been consulted.\nThe historical literature reveals that the merger of the Swat state in 1969 with Pakistan as part of the\nKPK province brought a major shift in administrative and political systems and to the customary rules,\nregulations and institutional setup in subsequent decades, such that formal law functioned under a mix\nof Pukhtoonwali and Islamic laws. Since 2001, the government of Pakistan, donor-funded\ndevelopment projects and participatory development strategies, when combined with militant conflict, Pakistan military operations and internal displacement, radically changed the roles of the major tenets\nof Pukhtoonwali. The tenets including the council of elders (Jirga), common hospitality, place of male\nguests (Hujra), gender boundaries (namoos), and truce (teega), can be claimed to be non-functional.\nIn fact, the current militant movement and Pakistan military operations in northwest Pakistan tried to\ndelink the Pukhtoon from their history and indigenous narrative. Nevertheless, these consequences\nprovided opportunities and sensitized the local people to reorganize themselves and develop new\nsocial networks and revisit the cultural system in more democratic and modern ways. This is the\nphilosophy of Khudai Khidmatgar Tehreek (Servant of God movement) – a non-violent movement\nwhich began in 1928 and presented Pukhtoonwali as a discourse of human dignity, pluralist\ndemocracy, indigenous wisdom and cultural identity. The codes of pukhtoonwali are still very\nprominent in verbal discussion, poetry, songs and proverbs. Therefore, more research needs to be\nconducted on the narratives of pukhtoonwali to make it more compatible with the needs of\ncontemporary development perspectives.\nThe gender role and relations interpreted under the patriarchal structure of the pukhtoonwali embody\nthe theoretical perspective of social and cultural constructionism. Women’s roles are confined to\nhousehold domestic activities while men hold the political and social power outside the home. Men\nare therefore represented as front-runners for satisfying the livelihood needs of their family members.\nThe analysis revels the inequality between gender and different ethnic and social groups in accessing\nlivelihood resources whether social, human or natural. However, inequalities varies among gender of\ndifferent groups. Socio-economic development, political reforms and development projects created\nand provided opportunities for skills attainment and jobs for men and women in the pre-crisis period,\nwhich to some extent changed socially constructed roles and empowered women to make decisions\nin terms of their children’s education, marriages, use of cash income and property rights. We observed\nthe flexibility in cultural values for women’s mobility and their access to education, health services,\njobs and property rights against what has been written in previous research by a number of\nanthropologists, sociologists, historians and political thinkers as well as by media. The inequalities in\ngender relations at household level need to be addressed in development programmes, which have the\npotential to generate outcomes that are more positive. This may increase women’s access to education\nand skills training and to the creation of more opportunities, which is essential for women’s capacity\nto question, reflect and act on the conditions of their lives. Participatory development practices applied before the crisis in development interventions have\nresulted in some positive impacts in improvement of socio-economic condition for the projects’\nbeneficiaries. This is in spite of number of political, social and administrative constraints in\nimplementation of development projects. However, the crises of militant conflict, prolonged relief\nand rehabilitation interventions and change in the needs and priorities of the people and organizations\nhave significantly influenced the ability to practise participatory development. The national and local\nNGOs, together with civil society organizations, dropped the application of participatory development\npractices in relief, rehabilitation and even reconstruction activities. Nonetheless, this study suggests\nthat it may be possible to apply participatory approaches to development in the rehabilitation and\nreconstruction phases, in order to achieve better results for humanitarian aid in terms of equal\ndistribution of resources among crisis-affected populations, promoting gender equality and\nstrengthening local institutions. There is need for more detailed studies on how humanitarian aid in\ncrisis-affected societies can be utilized to improve livelihood conditions of the marginalized\npopulations on a sustainable basis, which will indirectly decrease the inclination among poor people\ntowards militancy. Improved research assessments are needed in order to identify cultural, religious\nand political challenges in relation to militant conflict and development, which in turn can lead to\nalternative options, which are both feasible and appropriate.
Source: BIBSYS Brage (BIBSYS (Norway))
Author: Noor Elahi
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2491497327