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On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Sammi Deen Baloch, a senior leader of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), accused the Pakistani state of unleashing what she called the "most brutal form of oppression" against Baloch women. In a statement, Baloch alleged that women in Balochistan are being subjected to arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and harassment simply for speaking out against injustices, as reported by The Balochistan Post.
According to The Balochistan Post, she stated that Pakistani security agencies have resorted to silencing female voices through intimidation and violence. "Baloch women are being charged for crimes they never committed, detained without warrants, and forced into disappearance," she stated. Women are being punished for showing courage and dignity in a system designed to crush dissent. Citing the arrests of prominent activists such as Dr Mahrang Baloch, Gulzadi Baloch, and Beebow Baloch, Ms Baloch said these detentions reveal the state''s fear of politically conscious women. According to her, the imprisonment of these women demonstrates that "the political voice of a Baloch woman can shake the very foundation of state authority." She further highlighted the plight of Mahjabeen Baloch and Nasreena, who remain missing under what she described as enforced disappearances. "The state refuses to acknowledge their cases because admitting the truth would expose who took them and why," she added, as highlighted by The Balochistan Post. She condemned the violent suppression of peaceful women protesters who demanded the safe return of their loved ones. She said the use of batons, verbal abuse, and arrests against these women reflects a mentality that denies them their basic humanity. "When women raise their voices, the state brands them as terrorists," she said. In her concluding remarks, she stated, "There is no justice, no law, only a dictatorship that bleeds those who stand against it, yet Baloch women remain unbroken," as reported by The Balochistan Post. (ANI)
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