They Finally Realized They Were Wrong

As a trainer with PAIMAN, a non-governmental organization focused on peacebuilding, conflict transformation, and empowering marginalized Pakistani groups, Bushra Hyder has worked with university students in Khyber Pukhtunkwa Province, which is very volatile based on its proximity to Afghanistan. Over the course of a few days, she was able to form a bond with extremist youth who now see her as a mentor, in part because she was more approachable as a woman. In an interview in 2011, Ms. Hyder stated that she found the youth were more respectful to her than her male colleague and that she was able to show them the violence they’d been trained to do was wrong.

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