Youth

In photos: Girls make history, take centre stage at Mohmand cultural festival

Extracurricular activities help make tribal girls more confident and point them towards a brighter future, say educators.

By Alamgir Khan

2018-03-07

Tribal schoolgirls compete in tug-of-war during the Mohmand Sports Youth and Cultural Festival February 22. [Alamgir Khan]

Tribal schoolgirls ride a camel during the Mohmand Sports Youth and Cultural Festival February 22. [Alamgir Khan]

Tribal schoolgirls dressed like boys participate in a stage play February 22. [Alamgir Khan]

Tribal schoolgirls dressed like security personnel perform in a stage play February 22 during the Mohmand Sports Youth and Cultural Festival. [Alamgir Khan]

Tribal schoolgirls model local dresses during the Mohmand Sports Youth and Cultural Festival February 22. [Alamgir Khan]

Tribal schoolgirls dressed in boys' and girls' traditional clothing are shown during the Mohmand Sports Youth and Cultural Festival. [Alamgir Khan]

Teachers and students watch a stage play February 22 during the Mohmand Sports Youth and Cultural Festival. [Alamgir Khan]

Students display posters at a science stall at the Mohmand Sports Youth and Cultural Festival. [Alamgir Khan]

Additional Political Agent Mohmand Agency Hamid ur Rehman (left) hands out prizes to wining students during the Mohmand Sports Youth and Cultural Festival. [Alamgir Khan]

GHALANAI, Mohmand Agency -- For the first time in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), tribal women and girls had the opportunity to participate in a sports festival.

The February 17-22 Mohmand Sports Youth and Cultural Festival enabled students of girls' schools and colleges from across the tribal agency to compete in various events.

"Such programmes have a positive impact on the teachers and on girl students," Neelam Sharif, principal of the Government Girls Degree College, Ekkaghund, told Pakistan Forward.

"We definitely need extracurricular activities along with curricular activities," she said. "Such activities create confidence in the tribal girls and move them towards a brighter future."

Girls February 22 perform at the Mohmand Sports Youth and Cultural Festival in Mohmand Agency, held February 17-22. [Alamgir Khan]

Hina Mohmand, 27, a student at the Government Girls Degree College, Ekkaghund, managed a handicrafts stall at the festival.

"This is my first such experience; it's great," she told Pakistan Forward. "I got permission from home, and my father is very happy to see this happening."