Islamabad: Just days after she was conferred
an international award for courage, well-known Pakistani
women`s rights activist Shad Begum has been threatened by the
Taliban for speaking out against the militants in their former
stronghold of Swat.
Apart from Begum, who was among 10 women presented the
International Women of Courage Award by US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton in Washington earlier this week, the
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan threatened 14-year-old Malala
Yousufzai, the first recipient of Pakistan`s new National
Peace Prize.
Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said both of them were
on the militants` "hit list".
Begum is a social worker from Lower Dir district, located
a short distance from Islamabad. The area was overrun by the
Taliban in 2009 before the army launched an offensive to flush
out the militants.
Yousufzai is a resident of the Swat Valley and came to
prominence with her blog that detailed the atrocities of the
Taliban.
Ehsan said Begum and Yousufzai had backed the "imposition
of secular" governance in Swat.
"These women have been working for the vested interest of
the West and have supported the imposition of secular rule in
Swat Valley," he told the media in Pakistan`s northwest.
PTI
