Pakistan’s vicious policies towards Baloch women
Naz Zehri
The Balochistan Post
Women have a special status in Baloch society and are widely respected. Long lasting battles end in matter of moments when a Baloch women enters the battle ground. The history is full of examples where immediate truce has been called when women have entered into the opposition’s camps for ceasefire. That is the prestige of women in Baloch society.
Women empowerment is a tenet of Baloch culture. Unlike neighbouring nations, Baloch women stand shoulder to shoulder with their men in all kind of tasks. They help men in cultivating farms and herding sheep, whereas, women making quality handcrafts and contributing in family finances has also been a trait of Baloch society. Not confined to this, they have even fought in the battlefield against invaders. There are many Baloch women martyrs. Today, Baloch women are leading the political front and are the most vocal voice for their missing loved ones.
Since, occupation of Baloch land by Pakistan, our social fabric has been destroyed systematically. Baloch women, who were the most respected in our society have since been dishonoured at the hands of Pakistani army in order to demoralise and provoke the Baloch. Hundreds of women and young girls have become victims of Pakistani viciousness.
After “kill and dump” policy Pakistan has now started sexual harassment of Baloch women to blackmail Baloch nation and force them to step back from their valid demands of a free homeland. In 2014 many Baloch women were abducted from Bolan, Balochistan. They went missing for months before getting released from a military camp. Similarly, Baloch women were also abducted after military raid from Dera Bugti, Kohlu, Awaran and Makuran. They too were kept in army camps for months.
Prior to this, Pakistani authorities had also lodged fake charges against Baloch women who were politically active. Fake charges were levelled against Banuk Karima Baloch, Chairperson of BSO-Azad. Her family home was also targeted multiple times with mortars.
Most recently, on June 4th, 2018 Pakistani Army took into their camps dozens of women and young girls from Naag, district Panjgur. During detention, these women were tortured, harassed and raped by personnel of Pakistani Army. A pregnant woman lost her unborn baby because of this brutality.
Due to absence of objective media, the news from these remote areas never reach the mainstream media. Unfortunately, the victim families also refrain from sharing their anecdotes due the social stigma attached to the sexual harassment of women.
Human Rights and political activists have been forced to leave the region due to continuously being targeted by Pakistani Army and its local death squads. In such circumstances, it has become almost impossible to broadcast the news of such brutalities to the civilised world.
This incident is one of the worst and most brutal act by Pakistani forces. Balochistan has remained under-occupation of British Empire, Iran and other powers in the history, but no one has ever touched Baloch women and children. They had always respected the Baloch women but Pakistan that brags of being a so-called Islamic country has crossed all values of Islam and humanity.
Pakistan is a rouge state, which has earned the title of the rapist army because of raping thousands of Bengali women during Bangladesh war in 1970s. Once again Pakistan is repeating the same history in Balochistan. Pakistani savage army is roaming in streets of Balochistan inflicting brutalities on daily basis but international community has kept criminal silence on these war crimes.
I want to ask all those feminists, who run hashtag of #MeToo, what about Baloch women who do not have access to internet and cannot share their stories with the world using #Metoo? Is the extent of your activism only bound to those who can come and express their story on the internet? Or do you also speak for those voiceless women who have never been heard by any of us. If you are a real feminist and vocal for the rights of vulnerable women and children then it is high time that you should also speak on behalf of those women who have been raped by the Pakistani army in Naag, Panjgoor.
Baloch nation will never forget disrespect of their mothers, sisters and daughters. Pakistan has adopted a wrong policy against Baloch nation. This kind of incidents will convince Baloch nation that even their families are not secure under such a rouge state. Women and children of Baloch nation will only have safety in their own free home land.
Niaz Zehri is Organiser of Foreign Committee of @BSO__AZAD and a student of Law at the University of Roehampton, London. He tweets at @Niaz_Zehri