Baloch women’s sacrifices are unforgettable who contributed remarkably for the Baloch collective interests, stood firm against foreign occupiers and armed themselves with consciousness to resist the occupiers. In the present, we have women of two types in our society: one, who blindly follow the western ideals and their concept of modernism under the banner of feminism – about which they themselves rarely know anything. The other type includes all those Baloch women who are resisting against barbarism in any form for the societal well-being and formation.
“Aurat Aur Samaaj” is a book, authored by Dr. Jalal Baloch. He is one the significant and forefront political leaders in the Baloch struggle. This book was written in 2021 in Urdu as a magnificent dedication to women strugglers. Dr is one among the decades-long activist of the Baloch movement himself, belonging to the breathtaking landscape of Balochistan, which has significant geostrategic importance for the world at large.
It contains two hundreds and ninety one (291) pages with seven chapters. Each chapter discusses in details the empowerment of women in the society. Chapter one describes women capacity in medieval time period economically and the other spheres of life.
Dr. Jalal introduced his work with examples of foreign women making their way to the headlines. According to Joshua J. Mark, the Co-Founder and Content Director of World History Encyclopedia, long ago in 2700 BC, there existed a physician (woman) who assisted the Egyptians. She is also known for being the first physician from the Egyptian civilization. She became a frontline woman to make room for other women to excel in professions as this with her mark in the field.
He also mentioned about the British imperialism in the Indian subcontinent which had received space using the name of trade and development. Though it was a clear tool to intervene in the region, they named their arrival as enlightenment for the subcontinent. But it is an established fact that wherever oppressors ruled, natives consistently struggled to defend their homeland from foreign invasion. Similarly, a woman, named Rani Valu Nachiyar (Queen of Sivaganga estate from 1780 to 1790, and the first woman to wage war against the East India company, is also proudly called Veeramangai by the Tamils which means brave woman) emerged as a woman defender of her homeland. And rest is history filled with women strugglers.
Coming to the Baloch women in the third chapter, the author introduced key political Baloch women including Lumma-E-Watan Banuk Karima Baloch. After reviewing a slight shift in the patriarchal society of the world, he stressed on developing Baloch struggle with the role of the women.
While emphasizing the Baloch society since the colonization began, he added that like the other parts of the world, people here joined the movement to thrash the colonization in every possible fronts. In such a colonized society, state tries its utmost best to bring narratives as gender, systematic genocide and so forth. Women will be among a state’s key target to marginalize as much as possible, as was the case in Algeria where France put efforts in countering the Algerian movement by empowering their women to confront their counterparts in the opposite direction.
From politics to the war fronts, the author went on to saying that for the widespread of any movement, women are equally important, without whose participation a movement would likely succumb. As Lumma Karima said once, “Where injustice, barbarism and human rights violations are unceasing, it becomes important for the natives to collectively stand against them.” Similarly, this book provides a ray of hope to the Baloch women particularly to define their esteemed role in the present Baloch case.
On a similar note, the present day Baloch women are making history with their contributions in the already persisting Baloch movement for survival, identity and national ends. As Talpur quotes, “Today, as people in Kech, Quetta, Kohlu, Taunsa, DG Khan (and other places) have risen up, it is not spontaneous, but results of 75 years of Baloch resistance, and struggle of Karima and thousands of Karimas that she made way for.” Like the Baloch Lumma, Karima, the others today, following her footsteps, are only mirroring her defined role.
To curb it short, I would stress the recent movements as mirror to the Baloch struggle for years, with an important addition of women leaders in the frontline. A nation cannot make national ends meet with only men in the movement, but women participation is a key element in approving such success. It is a process where men and women have to walk together, face every difficulty together, and then a colonized nation will reach to its final destination.