Women's vulnerabilities amid Balochistan terrorism

The terrorism in Balochistan has featured women's participation, which is an anachronism according to the deeply conservative Baloch patriarchal traditions. Since September 2022, from Shari Baloch to Shaynaz Baloch, women have started participating in violent acts, indicating a departure from traditional norms and enhanced vulnerability to the coercive tactics and propaganda of terrorist organisations like BLA, BLF, and their political front BYC. In recent years, Karima Baloch assumed the status of a political martyr, which later came to dominate the narrative space of female terrorism. Though the Baloch Yakjehtee Committee (BYC), as a political group, is not banned, BNM Commander Sarfarz Bangulzai exposed BYC as a socio-political masquerade of the banned BLA. The worsening situation has compelled the state to deal with the terrorism with an iron hand in the shape of Operation Shaban and Al-Azm.

Several factors can be identified that lead to women's recruitment by separatist outfits. First, individual factors suggest that socio-political marginalisation induces disrespect for their Baloch identity and defiance of the state's authority. Moreover, other critical factors encompass the lack of basic needs for women, like health, education and poverty. Second, the women in Balochistan also face a lack of agency over their role in shaping their political and economic choices. Women's participation in politics is very low in peripheral regions compared to northern centres like Quetta. This political marginalisation is coupled with anti-state narratives of the estranged elements like BYC, creating an acute sense of socio-political deprivation. Baloch females were denied political space, so they legitimised their agency as perpetrators after being victims of political injustice. A third contributing factor is that the terrorist groups trap the females by exploiting their social and emotional vulnerabilities and capitalise on the grievances of the Baloch women, especially through financial facilitation.

BLA has enhanced its tactical and operational capabilities in conflict. They have exploited substantial security loopholes that arise from gender blindness. Cultural norms regarding women's security suggest that women in veils or abayas are less likely to be suspected, making it easier to carry out attacks by exploiting social norms. Women sitting in cars were not checked, which facilitated the logistical support and transportation of explosives, ammunition, etc. Female terrorism in Balochistan has entirely changed such security norms in conflict zones. Likewise, women are taken to the mainstream as faces of separatist agendas, so information can be easily manipulated to shift the narrative and grab media attention. This gives momentum to tactical and operational achievements, such as in Operation Herof by the BLA. Social media has further legitimised their involvement, which helps them target and recruit vulnerable individuals through proper channels.

India deliberately provides financial aid, intelligence support, logistical and political backing to the Baloch insurgents. Back in 2016, Naela Qadri Baloch, a Baloch women's rights activist, sought refuge in India and solicited Indian moral, political and diplomatic support for the Baloch cause. Likewise, after Shari Baloch's suicide attack, Baloch women's rights activists urged the Indian authorities to acknowledge the Balochistan state and help end the hub of terrorism.

Pakistan's counterterrorism strategy in Balochistan needs to be revisited through the lens of gender sensitive security and women's protection. The political empowerment and education of women in Balochistan need to be prioritised in the political engagement strategy of the state. The state should also mainstream the peaceful dissenting voices and their genuine grievances, lest they joined the separatist movements. The state should give them political agencies and confront more effectively the negative propaganda on enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. Such non-kinetic means, combined with kinetic measures against terrorists, would wean the unsuspecting and vulnerable female cohort of the Baloch population from the insidious reach of terrorists and their political fronts.