It’s winter break for school children in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. It’s a time of year the students usually look forward to. But this year, it’s a time of anxious anticipation and fear for the future. The Swat Valley is in Northwest Pakistan about 160 kilometres north of the capital, Islamabad.
The people who live there say the valley has fallen almost entirely under the control of the Taliban. And the Taliban have issued a ban on the education of girls … a ban they say will take effect when schools are scheduled to re-open next month.
To underscore their seriousness, militants have blown up or attacked close to 200 schools in the last six months. And they’ve threatened to kill teachers and students if they refuse to stay home.
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(Submitted by Salim Amersi)