Chitral women hail historic decision to pay them forest royalty

PESHAWAR: Women in the mountainous district of Chitral, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, have hailed the government’s decision to pay the womenfolk forest royalty – for the first time in the country’s history.
“It will empower women,” Sayed Gul Kalashi, a local woman and an employee of the archaeology department in Chitral, told Arab News.
“I still remember the day when one of my sisters was born and a relative came to my father telling him; if the newborn baby was a boy, he would be able to receive royalty,” she said.
Many parts of Chitral are covered with forests. In the past, a man with several daughters received only his share while a man with sons received a much bigger chunk of the royalty, she added.
“It is not just royalty, it is a status being given to women in society,” she said, adding that there are many women who do not even have male family members to earn and this decision would help them greatly.
Many men in the area, however, are still opposed to the idea of their female family members getting a share of the royalty.
Muhkam-ud-Din, a local resident of Ayun area in Chitral, is one of those who support the prevailing local tradition. “The district administration should not have introduced the new formula for royalty,” he told Arab News.
“There is already a set procedure under the local traditions,” he said. “Even if a man gets royalty, he spends it on the whole family.”
Chitral District Forest Officer Shaukat Fayyaz told Arab News that the Forest Department has transferred more than R150 million ($1.35 million) to the deputy commissioner’s office for distribution as royalty among people in different areas of Chitral.
“As per policy, we deposited 40 percent profit of forests in the government exchequer while the 60 percent has been given to the office of deputy commissioner for distribution to communities,” he added.
“In the past, the list of royalty holders only had male names but now a new list is being made including the names of women as well, and once the new lists are finalized, the distribution of royalty will be made to all men and women alike,” he added.
Deputy Commissioner of Chitral Irshad Sodhar told Arab News that up until now, forest royalty was only distributed through the forest management committees in different areas but that procedure was not transparent, and also women were deprived from the share.
“But the new lists would also have names of women along with men,” he said.
“After finalizing the lists of names, we will meet communities in different areas and discuss modalities for payment to the contractors in a transparent manner,” said Sodhar.
Authorities in Chitral are now facilitating all the residents of Chitral to get their computerized national identity cards so as to update and settle land records. “This will help in settling many forest land issues,” said Shaukat Fayyaz.