State of Women in Balochistan

*State of women in Balochistan*
by Sanaullah Baloch
http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=107243

Thursday, April 17, 2008

In spite of being commonly liberal, politically conscious, and culturally
well-endowed, resource-rich Balochistan is Pakistan's least-developed
province with high rates of infant and maternal mortality, poverty,
illiteracy and malnutrition.

Although women are suffering due to the inflexible culture, customs and
practices throughout Pakistan women, there is a larger story to tell about
the state-sponsored discrimination against women in Balochistan.

From the beginning Islamabad has outrageously tried to cover up its
ill-conceived and discriminatory policies by blaming the Baloch themselves
for their appalling state. However, facts and findings on health, education,
communication, political empowerment and economic development clearly
indicate that human development in Balochistan has been deliberately ignored
by successive central governments, to gain strategic benefits out of the
vast and geostrategic location of the province and its immense resources.
Women are discriminated against in the country at large. But in Balochistan
they are discriminated against by state. They have no access to enabling
opportunities required for the empowerment of women in any modern and
civilised society.

Under Article 25 of the Constitution, and of the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR),
women are entitled to a number of economic and social rights, such as rights
to food, social security, housing, education, an adequate standard of
living, and healthcare. But policy commitments have hardly been translated
in to practice.

The endless military operation, internal displacement, disappearances,
intimidation and the prolonged Baloch-Islamabad conflict are hitting hard
the already deprived women in the province. Central government
discriminatory policy is not only resulting in slowdown of gender
empowerment but its effecting overall social and economic development
process in province.

The most devastating consequence of underdevelopment in any society is a
high fatality rate. Balochistan has highest infant and maternal mortality
ratio (MMR), compared to that many Asian and African underdeveloped
countries. For example, the MMR in Karachi is 281 compared to 673 in rural
Balochistan. Pakistan's chief planning health officer told IRIN in June 2007
that "the maternal mortality ratio is 650 per 100,000 live births in
Balochistan - nearly two times the national average,".

The increasing rate of preventable maternal mortality is a symptom of the
larger social injustice of discrimination against women and violation of
women's human rights. Thousands of avoidable maternal deaths each year
indicate the government's unfaithfulness to domestic and international laws.
The expert has indicated the basic lack of safe drinking water and
sanitation as major cause of infant and maternal mortality in the province.
The Pakistan Living Standard Measurement Survey (PSLM), 2004-5, identifies
sharp a interprovincial disparity with regard to access to safe drinking
water. Reports state that 52 per cent of the population in Balochistan uses
wells and open ponds for drinking water, compared to three per cent in
Punjab, 13 per cent in Sindh and 35 per cent in NWFP. Balochistan' s women
played a vital political and human rights role during the current conflict
in the province. The Baloch Women's Panel very bravely organised a number of
protests, rallies and sit-ins in front of the press clubs in Quetta, Karachi
and Turbat against arbitrary arrests and for the release of missing Baloch
activists.

Despite being a signatory of major international conventions, Islamabad
continues to ignore the basic rights of women to education in Balochistan.
Planned discrimination remains to deprive the majority of girls the right to
knowledge in Balochistan.

Access to all levels of education is crucial to empowering women and girls
to participate in economic, social and political life of their societies.
Education unlocks a woman's potential, and is accompanied by improvements in
health, nutrition, and well-being of their families. The PSLM survey
reported alarming regional disparity in education sector. According to the
survey only 27 per cent of the students in Balochistan complete primary or
higher education, compare to 64 per cent in Punjab. The increasing dropout
rate is due to the unavailability of middle- and high schools.

Islamabad is totally inactive and ignorant about the need to reduce or
remove the interprovincial gender disparity and bring the neglected women of
Balochistan at par with rest of the provinces. Interprovincial gender
inequality in employment sector is unspeakable. According to State Bank of
Pakistan's 2005-06 report Balochistan and the NWFP have the highest rate of
female unemployment rate of 27 per cent and 29 per cent, compared to seven
per cent and 20 per cent for Punjab and Sindh.

A large number of women's vocational and training centres in Punjab make
women more capable and confident to qualify for market jobs. Punjab has 111
women's vocational institutes, however Balochistan has only one. Due to the
lack of girls' schools in the province only 23 per cent rural girls are
lucky enough to be enrolled in primary as compared to 47 per cent in rural
Punjab. In fact, acute poverty at the margin appeared to be hitting hardest
at women. As long as women's access to healthcare, education, and training
remain limited, prospects for improved social status of female population
will remains bleak.

The Social Policy Development Centre 2005 report discovered that the
percentage of the population living in a high degree of deprivation stands
at 88 per cent in Balochistan, 51 per cent in the NWFP, 49 per cent in Sindh
and 25 per cent in Punjab. According to poverty-related reports the
percentage of the population living below the poverty line stands at 63 per
cent in Balochistan, 26 per cent in Punjab, 29 per cent in the NWFP and 38
per cent in Sindh.

No development policy could succeed unless it is based on the needs and
participation of people in the process. In Balochistan' s case, what people
need is socio-economic development, political empowerment, clean drinking
water, electricity, practical education, basic health facilities, proper
roads and infrastructure connecting rural towns to the main centres. But
central government is doing the opposite. The Baloch are subject to extreme
discrimination. No state in the present era singles out its citizen on the
basis of region and ethnicity. The regime in Islamabad must respect Baloch
rights and stop its systematic discriminatory policies.

The writer is a senator. Email: balochbnp@gmail.com

--
Senator Sanaullah Baloch
Member Senate of Pakistan
http://www.sanabaloch.page.tl