No woman VDC in Kulali Marah
Shariq Majeed
Tribune News Service

Kulali Marah-Surankote (Poonch), August 11
Despite claims by the government,no woman Village Defence Committee (VDC) exists in Surankote tehsil of Poonch. However, some local women have learnt the art of using firearms from their family members, the army and the police without being part of any VDC.

Despite the government showering praises on the “woman VDC” for countering militants and the army carrying its pictures in its calendars, such a committee doesn’t exist here.

Tribune investigations show that no woman VDC exists in the Kulali Marah area of Surankote tehsil in this frontier district.Police records of Surankot police station show that no rifles have been issued to any women in these areas. The records show that the Surankote police has issued 168 rifles,including 150 .303 rifles, besides 18 SLR rifles to the VDC members of the Kulali Marah area.

Of the 168 rifles, not a single has been issued to a woman. They also reveal that two women, Nazeera Begum and Shamim Akhter,who are not part of any VDC,have been issued .303 rifles, but they are not residents of the area and hail from Danidhara village.

“As per our records, there is no VDC in our area of responsibility. However, we have seen that some of the women here have received amateur training in firing from their family members, the local police, the army and the local VDC members. I can tell you with surety that they can use firearms ”,a constable posted at the local police post claimed. “We also have reports that some of the women are using the weapons of their family members to whom the weapons have been issued for protection from militant attacks”.

Residents of the area also claimed that they had never heard of any woman VDC in the area. However,they added that three women of the area once foiled a major attack by militants and even killed a militant.

“ Our women are really brave.Three women of our area repulsed a major militant strike and, in fact, gunned down a militant in 2004. But after that these women never had to take to weapons as the militancy subsided in our area”, claimed Muhammad Bashir, one of whose female family members can fire with their .303 rifle. “So far as any woman VDC is concerned, it doesn’t exist in our area and is only a creation of the government”.

An army source told The Tribune that the army never claimed it "created" the women VDC in Kulali Marah areas. "We just imparted training to women for repulsing militant attacks", the army source said.

DIG, Rajouri-Poonch Range, S.D.S.Jamwal told The Tribune that the women VDC in the Hill Kaka area in Surankote was defending the villages against any militant attack. “They have been armed with weapons and are doing an exemplary job in eradicating militancy in that area”, the DIG claimed.