This paper uses empirical evidence to examine the Pakistani Taliban’s (Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, TTP) strategy of targeting public spaces in order to suppress expressions of social cohesion and limit opportunities for open discussion. In tracing the rise of the TTP, the authors review Pakistan’s history of state and civil society formation, its relationship with Afghanistan, and the influence of U.S. and Western policy in the region.
The paper highlights a distinct gender dimension in TTP attacks on public spaces. In Pakistan’s Swat district alone, 276 schools - 167 of them for girls - had been damaged or defaced by the Taliban at the time of publication. The authors note that these attacks generated widespread fear, with parents reluctant to send their daughters to school and many working women afraid to travel to work or engage in routine activities such as shopping for clothing other than the burqa.