The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has approved a ‘female youth club’ in Peshawar, KP Senior Minister for Tourism, Sports, Youth, Culture and Archeology Atif Khan tweeted. A funding amounting to Rs400 million has also been approved for the project.
This initiative has been taken by KP Tourism Corporation.
Female youth club approved for pesh,Rs 4 crore approved. It will include gym, cafe and other facilities only for females pic.twitter.com/4GvyTtkr9V
— Atif Khan (@AtifKhanpti) January 15, 2019
The youth club will reportedly be an exclusive space for women with basic facilities such as a gym for exercise and eating space.
Historically, youth clubs serve as spaces where young people can engage in leisure activities and are provided with resources to develop their social and physical skills. They are usually run by local authorities.
However, social media users have criticised the project for pictures of the meeting that approved the project show a surprising lack of female representation.
Digital rights activist Nighat Dad tweeted that “[a] room full of men approved a female youth club in Peshawar”.
Room full of men approved female youth club in Peshawar ?????? #WhereAreTheWomen #Manel https://t.co/o58vzyYqPU
— Nighat Dad (@nighatdad) January 15, 2019
“And no woman [can be] seen in this picture [of those that] approved this decision”, one added.
And there is no women seen in this picture who aprove this decision ?
— Usman Ch (@Usmanbashir_55) January 15, 2019
At this, another user, Nariman Bisma butt in that “suggestions were taken from all female members prior to approving the Female Youth club. [It is a] one of its kind initiative in Peshawar which should be appreciated”.
Suggestions were taken from all female members & their input taken prior to approving the Female Youth club. One of its kind initiative in Peshawar which should be appreciated
— Nariman Bisma (@narimanbisma) January 15, 2019
Another responded that “they were visiting the site when the photo was taken after their approval”.
They were visiting the site when this photo was taken after their approval
— Najiullah Khattak (@khattaks) January 15, 2019
