Swat Valley and Sharia Law

Pakistan is one of the best kept travellers secrets, especially for those who have spent any time in the North West Frontier Province.

I have been fortunate to have travelled twice to this area back in the 90s. My Danish friend Michael lives in Madyan in the heart of the controversial Swat Valley. He co-owns the simple, but comfortable New Caravan Guest House in this small, but very beautiful village.

Like in many typical Islamic villages, men hang around on the street, chatting and drinking chai for hours on end, and women are very rarely seen. Yet this does not mean that women travellers cannot enjoy their travels in this area. I met up with Tanya, a young blond American woman in Madyan. She wore a Punjabi trouser suit and a headscarf, and was loving it. She was given free armed protection from concerned locals and enjoyed free entry to the women´s domestic quarters wherever she went – simply not possible for us male travellers.

Throughout the day, one can hear gunfire echoing around the valley; predominantly testing new guns that are made and bought in other villages. It is easy to regard the area as lawless, but this is simply not the case. Sharia law has governed this area for hundreds of years, it is not a recent invention.

To illustrate my point, I want to share an anecdote from Martin, an 18 year old Danish guy who was travelling on a local bus with another woman traveller. A local man was eyeing up the woman and kept brushing his leg against Martin´s travelling companion. Incensed by this local´s actions, another male passenger passed Martin his imitation Colt 45 and demanded Martin shoot the assailant - "he has insulted your wife". As you can imagine, Martin was shocked by the experience and didn´t take up his fellow passenger´s offer. The troublemaker was subsequently thrown off the bus to much abuse.

Traditional law has been firmly entrenched in Swat valley and the Pakistan government is right to recognise this. The existence of the Taliban who only started their insurgency in this area in December 2008 is unfortunate for many, not least Swat valley residents who rightly fear for their lives.

Whether we agree with Sharia law or not, it is no good Hilary Clinton bleating on about lawlessness. Sharia law does not mean the Pakistani government support the Taliban; simply they respect local Swat valley traditions.

If anyone has a contact for Danish Michael, I'd love to hear from you.

Editor´s Addition: i am delighted to receive news directly from Michael who is alive and well. He left Madyan in 2002 and is now based back in Denmark. Fida and his ever-expanding family now live in New Caravan Guest House. 07/04/2010