No country for women

July 31, 2024

ISLAMABAD – OF late, it seems as if the state of Pakistan is caught up in a constant battle with its citizens, from Balochistan to Karachi to the more central areas of Pakistan. And the longer these skirmishes go on and the wider they spread, it is the women who seem to be at the receiving end.

In the past couple of days, we watched our phone screens horror-struck as Mahrang Baloch called for a protest in Gwadar. No one was surprised that the call was met with resistance; those headed to Gwadar were stopped by road blockages, intimidation, and eventually the use of violence. And once again, as the mainstream media was busy elsewhere, social media filled the vacuum.

When the television cameras are missing, the story is told to those who hold phones in their hands. But this time, the stories the phones capture is one in which women are at the forefront. In the past two days, these have been dynamic young, educated women leading a movement. Mahrang Baloch and Sammi Deen have become household names since they came to Islamabad a few months ago.

In those wintry days, we had watched women bearing the brunt of the state’s bullying tactics as they were taken into custody and efforts were made to forcibly bus them out of the capital. Those images and what we saw on Sunday symbolise a disregard for the general public, especially for women who are now pushing societal boundaries to express themselves politically.

This is true of many parts of Pakistan, even though there is no doubt that the Baloch have been meted out particularly vicious treatment. One simply has to hear the stories of how Mahrang, Sammi and others have been compelled to take to the streets to understand this. But despite this, there is a larger