The Status of Women and Girls in Khyber, Kurram, Orakzai, North Waziristan & South Waziristan – Gender Profile of Merged Districts

The Status of Women and Girls in Khyber, Kurram, Orakzai, North Waziristan & South Waziristan – Gender Profile of Merged Districts is a study commissioned and published by UN Women to generate an analytical report, based on primary and secondary data, highlighting the present-day situation of women and girls in the Newly Merged Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The analysis and data provided is aimed to facilitate the Federal as well as Provincial Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; UN agencies, particularly the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Merged Districts (KPMDs) project partners; and other associates in comprehensive planning, development and implementation of policies and programmes that effectively serve the needs of the most vulnerable groups in the underserved Merged Districts, particularly women and girls.

Gender profiles of the five districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Newly Merged Areas, highlight the current status of women and girls, and the disparities that exist between women and men, boys and girls, with regard to education, health, economic empowerment, gender-based violence, and leadership and political participation.

The reviewed material highlighted salient features of the Merged Districts in terms of demography, administration, social services and infrastructure, cultural barriers preventing women and girls' access to, and control over, various resources. The situational analysis has explored gender disparities, vulnerabilities, and social exclusion as a result of poverty. The indicators used for the Study were aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, Human Development Indices' (HDIs) and the Gender Equality Ranking (GER).