The lives of the women vary from those who reside in most conservative rural areas, such as the tribal belt, to those found in relatively freer urban centers. Though many women remain tribal and illiterate, others have become educated and gainfully employed. The ravages of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and the Afghan wars, leading to the rise and fall of the Taliban, caused considerable hardship among the women, as many of their rights were curtailed by a rigid and inaccurate interpretation of Islamic law. The male-dominated code of often constrains women and forces them into designated traditional roles that separate the genders. The pace of change and reform for women has been slow due to the isolation and instability of tribal life. Today, the women vary from the traditional housewives who live in seclusion to urban workers, some of whom seek or have attained parity with men. But due to numerous social hurdles, the literacy rate remains considerably lower for the females than for males. Abuse against women is widespread and increasingly being challenged by women’s rights organizations which find themselves struggling with conservative religious groups as well as government officials in the region. Women often have their legal rights curtailed in favor of their husbands or male relatives. For example, though women are officially allowed to vote, many have been kept away from ballot boxes by males. Traditionally, the women have few inheritance rights and are often charged with taking care of large extended families of their spouses.Another tradition that persists is swara, the giving of a female relative to someone in order to rectify a dispute. It was declared illegal in Pakistan in 2000 but continues in tribal regions. Despite obstacles, many local women have begun a process of slow change. A rich oral tradition and resurgence of poetry has inspired many women seeking to learn to read and write. Substantial work remains for the local women to gain equal rights with men, who remain disproportionately dominant in most aspects of the local traditional society. Human rights organizations continue to struggle for greater women’s rights, such as the GROOTS Chitral which aims to protect women from domestic violence Rights groups estimate 500 people, most of them women, are killed in the name of "honour" in region every year, with the majority of victims from poor, rural families often killed by their own relatives. Under Pakistani customs still followed in much of the countryside, a man or woman can be declared an outcast for having sexual relations outside marriage, or choosing their own spouse. Traditionally, people in area have little confidence in, or access to, police and courts in big towns. They solve problems through jirgas, or councils, of village elders. But the councils are often manipulated by the powerful and become tools for sanctioning violence against the weak, often in the course of a dispute within an extended family over land or some other asset. Women are the weakest of all in traditional, male-dominated Muslim society so they are often targeted, rights groups say. "Why does it happen? Because they are always the ones who have no redress, either legally or socially," Ghazala Afzal, of the women’s rights group the GROOTs , said of the victims. "They don’t know anyone, they have no contacts, and they have no money to offer the police. And these perpetrators come from the higher status of society," she said.tribal traditions. The women from the mountains of f Northern Pakistan under the umbrella of their local women economic empowerment Project GROOTs is therefore placing their request to support them in this fund raising campaign around the world to support theses struggling women in the area. For further information’s plez contact; prachgal_nasir@hotmail.com