The world marked International Women’s Day on March 8, under the theme of “For all women and girls: to accelerate progress. Rights. Equality. “World conversation has focused on progress and equality.
In the province of Balutchistan in Pakistan, a large number of women, mainly mothers and children, spent on March 8 protesting on a big road during a day of fasting in the city of Mastung, 50 kilometers from the provincial capital Quetta. However, while the demonstration occurred during the International Women’s Day, few women have given particular importance to the date. Instead, they demanded the safe recovery of their relatives who have forcefully missing by the security forces.
Balutchistan, a region involved in conflict since the beginning of the century, is no stranger to violence, largely perpetrated by the state itself. Thousands of young men Balouthes have disappeared by force or killed, leaving their families in a constant anxiety. In this backdrop, the Baloch women, despite the originality of a deeply conservative, tribal and patriarchal society, have emerged as a face of a dynamic and unique struggle of human rights. Manifestations, marches and peaceful but provocative road blockages have become a regular event, because mothers, sisters and girls demand justice for their loved ones.
However, in a society that marginalizes them, these women have few ways to express their grievances. Police often refuses to record cases, civil society in Pakistan is indifferent movements and feminist movements in the country such as the famous Mars aurat rarely recognize the unique difficulties of Balouthes women. In this context, the Baloch Yekjehti (BYC) committee, the main civil rights movement in Balutchistan, is distinguished from traditional feminist movements in Pakistan.
The dominant account around the Balutchistan conflict is that it is a political confrontation between the state and the Balouthes nationalists, a perspective which often undermines the serious sexospecific violence and human rights violations which women in Balutchistan are confronted. With little or no attention to the media of national points of sale, these women are forced to take drastic measures, for example by blocking the roads to disturb traffic and exert pressure on the local authorities. For them, it is not only a question of making noise; It is a desperate survival act.
Although men are the direct victims of state violence – those who have disappeared, tortured or killed – it is women who suffer the consequences during these actions.
In Balutchistan, the current conflict gave birth to a painful and disturbing identity among women and children, which arises from the trauma of forced disappearances. These women, often called “half-langles”, are those whose husbands have force by force by state authorities but are not officially declared dead. Likewise, the term “half orphan” is used to describe children who live in a state of uncertainty, never knowing if their fathers are alive or dead.
These women must sail in a life of uncertainty, where their husbands, their fathers and their sons can be lost forever, but the state offers no closure, recognition and no justice. Left with the responsibility of raising their children, providing their families and continuing to live under the shadow of loss, these women are forced to assume roles far beyond the traditional expectations that are placed in this deeply patriarchal society. These surviving Balouthes women play a double role: they are not only mothers, but also fathers and guards, bringing the weight of education and the protection of their families in a male predominance society in a lack of opportunities for women.
In addition to their functions as mothers and caregivers, these women have an additional responsibility to fight for the release of their missing relatives. This is why they are at the forefront of the demonstrations, traveling from city to city, visiting the police stations and the audience rooms in search of answers. They appear in the rallies, block the roads and require justice in the face of the lack of response from the state. Although their actions are largely unnoticed by the international community and civil society in Pakistan, their fights say a lot. They have become the backbone of the Baloutche resistance, bringing the weight of their community struggle on their shoulders, often risking their own security in the process.
The term “half-widow” or “semi-orphus” is not only a label; It reflects the harsh reality of the lives of Balouthes women. They live in a perpetual state of sorrow and uncertainty, never knowing if their loved ones will come back or if they will remain lost forever in the hands of the state. The normal process of mourning and sorrow is impossible in these circumstances. But despite the emotional and physical toll, these women continue to resist. They are not passive victims; They are active participants in a fight for justice, for survival and for the right to exist without the constant fear of losing their loved ones to the violence of the state.
Their difficulties are not only to demand the return of the disappeared, but to live with dignity, without fear and trauma which has become a part of their daily existence. These women reshape the landscape of resistance to baloutchistan by contesting not only the violence of the state, but the deeply rooted patriarchal standards which seek to silence their voices and to refuse them their rights.
In Balutchistan, the fight for survival is linked to the fight for justice, and it is the women Baloutches who carry this fight forward. They are the heart of resistance against forced disappearances. Until their voices are heard and their difficulties recognize, the fight for justice in Balutchistan will remain incomplete.
What often goes unnoticed is the centrality of balout women in the political discourse of the region. They are far from passive victims. These women actively resist the occupation, which questions the story of the state and demanding responsibility for violence perpetrated against their families. However, their contributions remain largely invisible to famous feminist movements in Pakistan and South Asia. Balutchistan conflict is widely overshadowed by world crises, from cashmere in Afghanistan to Iran’s political instability. Meanwhile, the suffering of the Baloutche people remains ignored.
Despite this, the resistance of balout women both in the domestic sphere and in the street serves as a powerful testimony of their strength. Balouthes women do not just fight for equality; They are fighting for survival. In a society where women depend on men for their survival, the kidnapping and murder of their sons, brothers, fathers and husbands are an existential crisis.
While a large part of the feminist movements in the world focus on empowerment and gender equality, in Balutchistan, the struggle is much more fundamental: the right to exist. These women are fighting for survival in a place where fundamental human rights are systematically raped. They fight for the fundamental right to live without fear. It is only when the fundamental foundation of survival and dignity is realized that dreams of equality and empowerment can start to take root.
In a world that celebrates progress and equality, let us not forget that in places like Balutchistan, survival with honor itself is a crime. It is very important to understand that Balouthes women lead a movement not only to oppose the oppression of the state, but to fight for their very existence.