Religiøse ledere i Pakistans Nordvestre grenseprovins krever at alle kvinnelige hjelpearbeidere må slutte, både utenlandske og paksitanske, fordi de ikke oppfører seg og kler seg sømmelig. De påvirker de lokale kvinnene i dårlig retning.

Muslim clerics in Pakistan’s conservative North West Frontier Province want local authorities to expel all women working for international relief agencies in earthquake affected areas by the end of this month.

The clerics accuse the women, including Pakistanis employed by foreign non-government organizations (NGOs), of dressing improperly, mixing with men and drinking alcohol, which is banned in Islamic Pakistan.

«We are not against the NGOs, but we are against them spreading obscenity in society and trying to weaken our faith by corrupting our women,» Moazzam Ali Shah, head of Tehreek-e-Islaha Muashra, or Movement to Cleanse Society, told Reuters in Mansehra town.

The clerics have not said what action they might take if the women aid workers are not asked to leave.

More than 50 international NGOs are based in Mansehra carrying out relief and rehabilitation projects for the victims of a massive earthquake that killed over 73,000 people and rendered millions homeless in Pakistan’s Kashmir and Frontier province last October.

Mansehra is the district where Balakot, one of the towns hardest hit by a massive earthquake last October, is located.

«We know an ultimatum has been given and we are waiting to see what happens,» said Frank Lehmann, a senior official with World Vision, an NGO involved in providing schooling for children still living in tent encampments.

«We respect the local culture and try to behave accordingly,» Lehmann said, adding that the relief agencies had raised their concerns with the local authorities.

Det lokale politiet sier de skal passe på hjelpearbeiderne.

Det var akkurat samme taktikk Taliban brukte i Afghanistan for å presse kvinner ut av alt arbeid utenfor hjemmet. Skoler ble brannbombet. Jenter skulle ikke gå på skole.

Det er nå tydelig at ekstreme elementer fra Afghanistan og Pakistan har slått seg sammen i grenseområdene. De gjenskaper området som en base for ekstremisme.

Jamaat-ud-Dawa, an Islamic charity with links with a banned militant organization, Lashkar-e-Taiba, is active in the area, and its officials in Balakot told Reuters they supported the allegations against the foreign aid workers.

The United States added the charity to a list of terrorist organizations earlier this year, but there have been no moves against it by the Pakistani authorities.(reuters)