“One of my children lost his life before my eyes. Only I know how painful and devastating that moment was for a mother, especially a widow of three orphaned children.”
No doubt, in conflict-affected areas, every citizen is vulnerable in one way or another. But women and girls in Balochistan are paying a hidden cost of conflict, one that remains largely underreported because of social stigma, fear of social-media trolls, and the consequences of speaking out. It is difficult to imagine how, in this modern and digital era, women continue to survive in such a deeply patriarchal society. Much of the reporting on Balochistan focuses on security incidents, political instability, attacks, snap-checking, political developments, and the broader humanitarian consequences of conflict. This story shifts the focus to women and girls, whose suffering often remains invisible.
Rather than documenting only physical violence, it examines the psychological impact of conflict and how insecurity and political instability heighten women’s exposure to gender-based violence, while simultaneously preventing them from seeking help or reporting abuse. Women living in conflict-affected areas of Balochistan are among the least visible populations in Pakistan’s media landscape and public discourse. Their experiences of trauma, fear, and gender-based violence are rarely reported because of insecurity, social stigma, limited media access, and the absence of survivor-centred reporting.
Gender-based violence is a nationwide issue in Pakistan. However, in conflict-affected provinces such as Balochistan, its manifestations are often more complex and deeply rooted in social and cultural norms. Several incidents of Gender Based Violence remain hidden because of social stigma, fear of social consequences, and limited access to justice. As a result, survivors and their families often experience long-term psychological, social, and emotional consequences while being denied legal protection and support.
In Balochistan, many girls and women have been victims of Gender Based Violence. But not everyone, like Asma Jatak, chooses to break the silence and raise their voices for justice despite stigma and social pressure. This story highlights the experiences of women whose cases have remained hidden and underreported. A total of 3,172 cases of Gender Based Violence were reported across Pakistan during the first half of 2026, including 18 cases involving transgender persons, according to Sahil’s report published on July 24, 2026.
A report by the Sustainable Social Development Organization (SSDO), based on Right to Information (RTI) data obtained from the Balochistan Police, shows that Balochistan recorded 398 cases across four major categories of gender-based violence in 2024. These included 160 domestic violence cases, 185 kidnapping and abduction cases, 32 honour killings, and 21 rape cases. The report recorded zero convictions across all four categories. Quetta was identified as a high-risk district for rape, kidnapping, and domestic violence, while Naseerabad and Sohbatpur were identified as high-risk areas for honour killings.
The Aurat Foundation (AF) recorded 73 cases of violence against women in 2024, including 43 murders, 19 honour killings, and seven sexual assaults. In 2025, it recorded 58 honour-killing cases, including 10 in Jaffarabad and four each in Sibi and Lasbela. Quetta recorded 103 cases from 2019 to 2025. The SSDO further reported 315 cases of violence against women in Balochistan between January and June 2025, with a conviction rate of 19.30 per cent, Aurat Foundation & SSDO Report. According to another SSDO report, 32 honour killings, 21 rape cases, 185 kidnappings, and 160 cases of domestic violence were registered in Balochistan. However, these figures are likely to underestimate the actual scale of Gender Based Violence because of significant underreporting, particularly in peripheral and tribal areas. Social stigma, limited access to justice, and weak institutional mechanisms all contribute to the silence surrounding such cases.
An activist from Balochistan described some incidents from his community to me at a public place in Quetta. He spoke in a low voice, repeatedly looking around to make sure no one could hear us. He shared one case to illustrate the challenges surrounding Gender Based Violence and early marriage. “In our area, a young girl was married at an early age to a much older man,” he said. Because of her early marriage and young age, she developed a disability, he claimed.
“We later arranged medical treatment for her. After she recovered, AB, an anonymous name, returned and sought permission from her family to take her back. However, the family decided to terminate the marriage. Despite what had happened, we did not approach the courts or the media because of the fear of social stigma and community backlash. This is why many such cases are never reported.” He also said that, sometimes in the name of “honour killing”, the level of social insensitivity is such that victims are not even allowed to be buried in their ancestral graveyards because of community customs.
The case of Asma Jatak was unfolding in a climate of fear. She was fighting her case alone against a powerful tribal chief. In Balochistan, where it is generally risky to speak publicly about conflict and security issues, speaking out about gender-based violence can be even more dangerous. For a long time, no one was ready to speak about these issues. Finally, Zohra, the wife of a former political activist, showed courage and began to tell her story. “I am the widow of a former political activist. He was killed in August 2013 in Turbat, Balochistan,” she said.
But women and girls in Balochistan are paying a hidden cost of conflict, one that remains largely underreported because of social stigma, fear of social-media trolls, and the consequences of speaking out.
“After the incident, our homes in Awaran were burned. That marked the beginning of a life of displacement for my three orphaned children and me. I migrated from Awaran to Karachi. My biggest concern was their future. I kept thinking about how I would give them a better life and ensure their education. I had spoken to the BBC about my situation at that time. The difficult and painful journey of my life had begun.” In Karachi, the hardship continued. “I was involved in an accident in which my leg was fractured, while one of my children lost his life before my eyes. Only I know how painful and devastating that moment was for a mother, especially a widow,” she said.
In 2017, Zohra migrated from Karachi to Quetta and enrolled in an MA programme in Balochi literature at Balochistan University. Despite the difficulties, she completed her master’s degree. After a brief period of relief, she began preparing for admission to an MPhil programme in Balochi. While she was going to “Jungal Bagh” at Balochistan University to collect her MPhil test slip, she was attacked. “I was seriously injured, but because of the timely treatment provided by doctors, Allah gave me another chance at life. I survived,” she explained.
Since 2014, she said, she has been living with continuous pain, fear, and hardship, even though she had no connection with political activities. In 2024, a baseless FIR was registered against her in Awaran while she was in Karachi undergoing surgery on her hand. She is still facing trial. “For more than a decade, I have faced one hardship after another. I am mentally disturbed. But even today, my biggest concern is my children, their education, and their future,” she said. “I worry about how they will complete their education and what kind of life they will have.”
She appealed to human rights organisations and organisations working to combat gender-based violence and protect women’s rights to raise their voices in her support. “I urge them to stand by me and help amplify my voice, so that I can survive with dignity and continue to provide care and a future for my orphaned children.” Kulsoom Baloch, a women’s activist and co-founder of Raaji-Baloch Women Forum, recalled several cases of gender-based violence that she dealt with while working with the organisation.
“When I was working with Raaji and dealing with such cases for a long time, the process of registering a Gender Based Violence case was such that the first step was to go to the police station and register the case with the police,” she said. “I dealt with many cases involving harassment, as well as government- and conflict-related Gender Based Violence.” According to Baloch, the process itself can become a source of trauma for survivors. “When we went to the police station, all the police officers present were men. This is a male-dominated society and its institutions. It is very difficult for a female survivor to share every detail with an unknown man.” She said that when police officers began asking sensitive and inappropriate questions, she was often deeply traumatised herself.
“In a male-dominated society, if a woman is facing such a situation, she thinks a hundred times before going to a police station and openly presenting such a case.” During her time at Raaji, Kulsoom regularly dealt with such cases as a women’s rights activist. After taking a deep breath, she slowly continued the conversation. “Even today I recall those days. I saw mothers of orphaned children and widowed women. They were helpless, and their lives were traumatised in such a way that it still pains me deeply.”
It was an incredibly painful and heartbreaking experience for every survivor, Kulsoom observed. She said the cases affected her as well. “After such conversations, I had to go for a long walk and meditate.” Imrana Imdad, who works on gender-based violence issues, said that Gender Based Violence, child marriage, and forced marriages are common in Balochistan. Every year, at least 60 women are killed in the name of honour, she claimed.
“Gender Based Violence is deeply normalised across Balochistan, particularly in the Green Belt areas such as Dera Murad Jamali, Jhal Magsi, and Nasirabad,” Imdad said. Unfortunately, she added, the ongoing conflict and difficult security situation mean that cases of Gender Based Violence, child marriage, and honour killings are often neglected or overshadowed by the conflict itself. According to Imdad, these cases tend to receive public attention only when they are highlighted on social media.
Whether it was the Degari incident, in which a woman was shot dead on the orders of a jirga just outside Quetta, or the case of Asma Jattak in Khuzdar, both received attention only after their families took to social media, ultimately forcing the authorities to take notice. Otherwise, Gender Based Violence and related issues remain taboo subjects, and many cases are never reported. Even when cases are reported, there are inadequate legal mechanisms to support survivors. Police are often too slow to register FIRs and take action, Imdad said. As a result, many people are discouraged from reporting these crimes in the first place. The stories of women in Balochistan reveal a dimension of conflict that statistics alone cannot capture.
Conflict does not only destroy homes, displace families, or create insecurity. It can also deepen the conditions that allow gender-based violence to remain hidden. Fear, displacement, social stigma, patriarchal structures, limited access to justice, and weak institutional mechanisms can combine to leave women and girls with nowhere to turn. For survivors, the consequences can extend far beyond the immediate incident. Psychological trauma, fear, social isolation, disrupted education, displacement, and uncertainty about the future can become part of everyday life. Yet these experiences rarely receive the same attention as security incidents or political developments. The result is a second layer of invisibility: women who are already living through conflict can become invisible within the very reporting about that conflict. For women such as Zohra, the struggle is not simply to survive violence or displacement. It is also to secure an education and future for their children, seek justice, maintain dignity, and make their voices heard.
For activists such as Kulsoom Baloch and Imrana Imdad, the challenge is not only supporting survivors but also confronting a system in which reporting abuse can itself become a source of fear and trauma. And for the many women whose cases never reach the police, courts, media, or social media, the true scale of the crisis remains unknown. Balochistan’s conflict, therefore, carries a hidden cost that is paid disproportionately by women and girls whose experiences of violence, fear, and psychological suffering too often remain outside the public record.