Building Peace through Poetry in the Fragile Context of Erstwhile FATA

Abstract

Purpose: The local peace actors, including poets, play an important role in promoting peace in a conflict context. In this vein, this study aims to investigate the role of local poets in promoting peace in the conflict-affected communities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan Methodology: A qualitative inquiry was conducted in one of the Districts of former FATA, namely Bajaour. During fieldwork, fifty in-depth interviews were conducted with key informants, including poets, journalists, teachers, writers, and traditional peacebuilders. Findings: Thematic analysis revealed four major themes of local poets' role in promoting peace. These themes are; firstly, the poets highlighted the miseries of the conflict situation in their poetry. Secondly, they attempted to give voice to the sighs of oppressed and voiceless people. Thirdly, they resisted the increasing oppression. Finally, they preached peace and resisted violence Implications: It is concluded that poetry is an effective tool for promoting peace which should be used by peacebuilding organizations and government agencies working for peace in a conflict context.