Taliban Ascendency and Its Impacts on Women Empowerment in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Abstract

This research delve into the rise of the Taliban in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Pakistan, and the long-lasting impact it has had on women’s lives in the region. What commenced as a geopolitical shift during the Soviet-Afghan war steadily turned into a movement that reshaped daily life in KPK most severely for women and girls. This study outlines how religious extremism, political instability, and a lack of state control allowed the Taliban to grow in power, eventually leading to severe limits on women’s education, healthcare, and freedom of movement. Thousands of girls were pressed to leave school, female health workers were targeted, and women were forced out of public spaces and silenced. Depiction from a wide range of secondary sources, this paper not only scrutinizes the structural and ideological roots of Talibanization, but also flashes a light on the human storie like the killing of Shabana, a young dancer in Swat that expose the true cost of extremism.

Keywords: Taliban, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Women Empowerment, Healthcare, Education