Baloch Student Organization (BSO) called Saturday’s attack on a teachers van in Mastung and the recent mass rape incident in Kilkor “soul-wrecking” and said that such crimes against women are against the customs of the Baloch society. BSO called on rights groups to take tough actions against the violation of women’s rights in Balochistan.
BSO said in a media statement that the unknown armed assailants opened fire on a teachers van in Mastung on Saturday, wounding four of the female teachers inside. BSO condemned the incident and said that such acts of violence against women are contradictory with the Baloch customs and values. The women in Baloch society are seen with honour and respect – when a woman intervenes in a conflict between two groups, the adversaries lay down their arms in her honour. Such incidents of violence are tantamount to deliberately eroding the Baloch traditions, the BSO said.
The student body further said that the incidents of violence against women have seen a dramatic rise in Balochistan in the past few decades. Baloch female students were targeted in the Sardar Bahadur Khan University in Quetta, and women were harassed and sexually assaulted during military raids in various regions of Balochistan. All these actions aim to distance the Baloch women from education. BSO said that the Baloch recognize the necessity of education, and we will not back off from any sacrifice to ensure better education for our women.
The Baloch Student Organization termed the Kilkor mass rape incident – where a dozen women had been allegedly sexually abused by the Pakistani forces during military operations – as “heart-wrenching.” BSO said that this “collective rape incident” of Baloch women is “uncivilized, un-Islamic and immoral” and also a violation of the Baloch honour. We appeal to the rights groups to take tough actions the violation of women’s rights in Balochistan, BSO concluded.