By Fathima Aurakzai
PESHAWAR: The post-merger reality of Pakistan’s tribal districts, now officially integrated into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, presents a fragile landscape shaped by decades of historical marginalization, institutional vacuum and a gradual, often challenging transition toward inclusive development. Years of armed conflict, mass displacement and systemic neglect have left these regions grappling with deep socio-economic disparities. Within this context, women’s economic empowerment, particularly through agriculture and enterprise, emerges not only as a moral and social imperative but also as a cornerstone of sustainable peace and long-term recovery.
Women in the merged districts have traditionally been excluded from the economic and political spheres. Deep-rooted patriarchal norms, restrictive interpretations of gender roles and barriers such as limited mobility and lack of identity documentation have curtailed their public engagement. However, the lived experience of conflict and displacement has quietly reshaped these dynamics. As men migrated for work or became caught in cycles of violence and insecurity, women gradually assumed greater economic responsibilities within households. These informal and often undocumented shifts highlight women as indispensable actors in family sustenance and community resilience.
Agriculture remains the main source of livelihood in the region. Women contribute significantly by managing livestock, cultivating kitchen gardens and vegetable production units, preserving seeds and overseeing food storage. Despite these critical roles, their contributions are rarely recognized in formal economic or policy frameworks. The disruption caused by conflict destroyed infrastructure, severed market connections and hindered traditional systems of knowledge transfer. Yet, this breakdown also provided an opportunity to rethink and reconstruct women’s roles in rebuilding local economies.
Development interventions aimed at restoring agriculture-based livelihoods have shown encouraging results when tailored to the cultural and social context. In districts such as Kurram, Khyber, Bajaur and South Waziristan, women-led kitchen gardening, poultry farming and livestock support programmes have strengthened household food security, improved nutrition and generated modest but meaningful income. These efforts not only promote economic participation but also elevate women’s confidence and social status within families and communities.
In Kurram and Khyber districts, for instance, women are actively engaged in home-based businesses such as carpet weaving, fruit and vegetable processing and other off-farm micro-enterprises. They also play central roles in agriculture, livestock and dairy-related activities. These women-led initiatives demonstrate strong potential for expansion. With targeted technical support, business development services and in-kind inputs, these micro-enterprises can be further strengthened to increase income, generate local employment and enhance household resilience. Recognizing and supporting these efforts within cultural and social parameters will ensure that such activities continue to grow while respecting community norms.
The success of such initiatives depends on deep community engagement. Respecting the region’s cultural traditions, involving local elders, religious scholars, community influencers and government departments is essential for building trust and achieving sustainable outcomes. When these actors support women’s participation, social acceptance follows and initiatives become more resilient.
Enterprise development, although more challenging, offers even greater transformative potential. Unlike agriculture, entrepreneurship requires broader engagement with markets, financial systems and supply chains that remain dominated by men. Women face serious obstacles including financial illiteracy, lack of access to capital and restrictive social attitudes that limit interactions with buyers, suppliers and support services. Despite these constraints, enterprise development can be a powerful catalyst for change when grounded in the local context and supported by community involvement.
Innovative models such as women-led cooperatives, mobile vocational training and localized producer groups have allowed women to participate in economic activities without violating social norms. These approaches enable women to enter markets while remaining within culturally accepted boundaries. Success is more likely when these interventions are linked with facilitation centers, culturally appropriate branding, and sustained community dialogue.
At the same time, many development programmes continue to lack gender-disaggregated data, which undermines effective planning, targeting and evaluation. A disconnect also persists between national policy frameworks and actual implementation at district and community levels. Inadequate access to land titles and public economic support programmes limits women’s ability to formalize their work and scale their enterprises.
The absence of land ownership and limited awareness of economic entitlements under the post-merger legal framework constrain women’s ability to benefit from government initiatives. Bridging this knowledge gap through legal awareness campaigns and women-focused extension services will be crucial for improving access to public resources.
To overcome these challenges, development actors and government must transition from isolated, short-term projects to integrated, long-term strategies that embed gender equality across all development processes. This requires not only financial investment but also a commitment to social norm transformation. Working closely with male allies, tribal elders and religious leaders is vital to creating environments where women feel safe and empowered to participate.
Robust policy frameworks must support this shift through gender-responsive budgeting, improved monitoring mechanisms and greater inclusion of women in decision-making processes tied to economic planning. Strengthening partnerships with local civil society, women’s networks and grassroots organizations will amplify community voices and help bridge the gap between local needs and institutional responses.
The argument for empowering women in the merged districts goes beyond principles of equality. It is a practical necessity for peace-building and regional development. Ignoring half the population in reconstruction efforts is not only unjust but also unsustainable.
If the promise of the merger is to be realized, it must be reflected in the daily lives of those most affected by past neglect. The quiet resilience and hard work of tribal women throughout years of hardship have already laid the foundation for change. Now it is the responsibility of the state, development actors and society at large to ensure these efforts bear fruit. Empowering women through agriculture, enterprise and off-farm livelihoods must be recognized not as supplementary but as central to the region’s recovery and sustainable development.
About the Author: Fathima Aurakzai is a development professional with extensive experience in humanitarian response, livelihoods and women’s economic empowerment across conflict-affected regions of Pakistan. A native of Kurram District, she holds a Master’s degree in Gender and Women Studies. She has worked with a UN agency as well as various national and international organizations.
