http://centralasiaonline.com/
By Hasan Khan
Rehabilitating those who lived under the militants' reign of terror will be costly, doctors and authorities say.
Pakistanis continue to learn about life under militant rule as internally displaced persons (IDPs) share their stories of humiliation and suffering.
"We were living in hell," Barakat Sher, an elderly displaced North Waziristan resident, told Central Asia Online.
No good militants existed, he said. "All were equally cruel, beating and torturing ordinary people."
Effect on women
Life for women was especially difficult because it was emotionally draining and actually led to health problems.
Women, especially those who were married or had children, lived in perpetual fear, Mir Ali town resident Ghawar Dawar said. "Every time a bomb went off, they feared that their husband or child would not come back home," he said.
Many women are depressed or suffer from a psychological illness brought on by the militancy, he said, adding that he knows two such women.
"Seeing dead, mutilated and tortured bodies daily has a grave impact on their minds," Dr. Said Alam Mehsud said, adding that the government faces a major challenge in rehabilitating these communities.
"This [rehabilitation] needs huge funding and resources, as complete overhauling is needed here to bring life to normal," he added.
Life for women in highly conservative tribal society was already difficult and the militants made it much worse, Boya resident Zameera Abay said.
"The only time I left my home was to attend funerals," an elderly woman told Central Asia Online. "We visited the homes of those killed by militants or in bombings daily."
Pregnancy-related diseases have also been widely reported.
The health centres in Miranshah and Mir Ali were poorly equipped and received a large number of women, a health worker said.
Stress and acute depression leading to low blood pressure are very common, and for pregnant women, those factors contribute to pre-mature births and to the maternal death rate, he added.
Pre-mature births and mental illness are common afflictions in populations suffering oppression and constant fear, Dr. Said Alam Mehsud said. "Depression causes different diseases in women … for pregnant women, they include stillbirths and pre-mature births," he said.
Shamed by militants
Stories of humiliation are also common among those found in the IDP camps.
"They do not need provocation to humiliate or torture you," Meeran Mehmood, a middle-school pupil from Miranshah, said. "I still feel embarrassed when I remember how our elderly teacher was slapped and beaten when he tried to conceal the identity of a boy whom the militants were trying to find."
Youths were the main target of the militants, he said.
"Whenever we came across a group [of militants], they would start abusing and taunting us," he said.
Children and boys were an easy target, and militants used them in many cases to take revenge on families who opposed them.
"Having a young son or a boy is like having an unlicenced weapon at home," Ali Akbar, an elderly IDP, said.
Parents of young sons lived in constant fear that militants would take away or misguide their sons, and though nobody dared to challenge the militants, stories of them taking away the young boys and torturing them at their camps to coerce families into obeying the militants are rampant, Akbar added.
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