The dark and narrow Banr Bazaar with small two-storey houses was deserted by its inhabitants following the killing of dancer Shabana.
Families of dancing girls at the Banr Bazaar in Mingora city, the capital of the Swat district in the NWFP, are still scared despite the return of calm to the city in recent weeks.
The dark and narrow Banr Bazaar with small two-storey houses was deserted by its inhabitants following the killing of dancer Shabana by a group of Taliban-led militants one cold night in January 2009. Her bullet-ridden body was found slumped on the ground, strewn with money and video recordings of her dance performances.
Threatened and scared, the families of the hundreds of dancing girls fled the area to settle down in Peshawar, Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad.
The 14-member family of Seema was also among the ones who had first decided to go to Karachi but finding little chance to settle there, returned to the Jalala camp in Takht Bhai Tehsil of Mardan district in the NWFP.
However, they were disappointed by finding no clients and hence were again thinking of leaving the place for good. As things stand today, among the nearly 100 families of the dancing girls, 50% have returned so far but they are still living under fear and do not meet visitors.
Before she was made to leave Swat in Jan 2009, 18- year-old Seema used to earn Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 per programme, but now majority of the families are unable to pay their house rent.
Many families at the Banr Street sold their daughters to wealthy men in Peshawar, Lahore and Karachi to make both ends meet. Some of them were married to men who were already married. But the families had no option as they needed money to survive.
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