'They Use Us and Others Abuse Us': Women in MQM Conflict in Women War and Peace in South Asia- Beyond Victimhood to Agency.

Haroon. A.
Manchanda R. (ed) Sage Publications India 2001 (International)

This article attempts to look at the armed conflict situation in the province of Sindh, where cycles of widespread violence have prevailed on a massive scale. It explains the roles played in this scenario by different agencies, such as the state, the government, political parties, as well as groups of mafias and individuals with their own agendas. It also takes a look at the people most badly affected as a consequence of this violence. Like in any other conflict situation, it becomes apparent that women are the biggest sufferers of the violence in Sindh. They have been used by their own groups and abused by the rest, and exploited and repressed by everyone according to the demands of the situation. The article analyses an initiative taken by the Women's Action Forum (WAF) to break the isolation of these women trapped in violence, and to explore the possibility of bringing women from different, even opposing communities, together on a neutral platform.