Baloch Women and State-Sponsored Programmes
Report
The so-called government in Balochistan has introduced a range of programmes targeting women and Baloch youth through scholarships, vocational training, entrepreneurship, financial assistance, employment, and social engagement. These initiatives need to be examined not only in terms of the opportunities they offer under the guise of care and concern but also in relation to the broader political situation in which they are implemented. While the colonial state presents these schemes as efforts to empower women and develop Balochistan, concerns about enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, restrictions on political expression, and the lack of accountability for human rights violations continue to grow. On the one hand, Baloch women are made to suffer lifelong while waiting for their beloved ones to return home; on the other hand, they are systematically engaged through limited financial incentives and efforts to cultivate a soft corner for the state, encouraging them to accept colonial rule.
Women are being engaged through state-sponsored development programmes, while the state is intensifying its efforts to build legitimacy, influence public narratives, and strengthen its relationship with Baloch society, an outcome that must be challenged. Through these engagements, the state aims to control the Baloch movement. Although this may be a disturbing development, it is not an inevitable consequence. Rather, this transient phase of engagement and development will soon meet its end when every Baloch youth becomes conscious of the real objectives behind these activities. Several programmes, workshops, and events are being organised with substantial budgets to encourage Baloch women’s participation in state-sponsored activities, some of which are discussed below.
The RISE Balochistan Programme (Resilience, Integration and Socio-Economic Empowerment) is one of the most active initiatives in this context. Sponsored by the provincial Industries and Commerce Department and implemented by the Balochistan Rural Support Programme, it operates in Panjgur, Kharan, Washuk, Gwadar, Awaran, and Kech. It combines different forms of engagement, including livelihood support, financing, vocational training, peacebuilding, and so-called civic awareness. Its stated objectives include engaging youth and women in basic skills development and promoting economic growth, while the state continues to exploit the economic resources of their homeland in numerous ways. In October 2026, approximately Rs 150,000 was provided to 150 beneficiaries in Gwadar, while 40 women completed vocational training in beautician skills and professional baking, even as Gwadar continues to struggle with access to drinking water. Through these activities, women are engaged as entrepreneurs, skilled workers, and programme participants, while the broader political objectives of the state behind these projects remain a concern. The state seeks to strengthen its relationship with younger generations in conflict-affected districts, ostensibly through development initiatives that may also serve to counter the Baloch movement.
The Women Entrepreneurship Development Programme (WEDP) engages women through business training, digital skills development, entrepreneurial education, and the provision of resources such as tablets and toolkits. In September 2026, 600 women had completed training under the programme. This initiative presents women as entrepreneurs who contribute to economic development and achieve financial independence, potentially encouraging long-term dependence on state-sponsored opportunities and gratitude towards the state’s representatives. Its political significance lies in the narrative surrounding women’s participation, through which Baloch women are encouraged to focus on financial independence from a feminist perspective, while their role in the Baloch national movement is itself a meaningful expression of women’s political agency and ideological commitment.
The Balochistan Women Economic Empowerment Endowment Fund provides another avenue through which women are engaged. Inaugurated in August 2025, the initiative is intended to promote women’s economic inclusion through financial assistance. Beneficiaries received assistance cheques in December 2025. This programme engages women in small businesses and offers them the prospect of generating an independent income. From a critical perspective, such financial assistance also creates a direct institutional relationship between the state and its beneficiaries, potentially encouraging Baloch women to believe that they are a priority for the state without adequately addressing their broader social, economic, and political concerns.
The AI Lab for Balochistan Women Entrepreneurs engages women through technology-oriented training and the promotion of digital entrepreneurship. In May 2026, 20 women entrepreneurs were receiving training in the first phase, with plans to expand the initiative to other districts. The programme seeks to connect women with emerging technologies and new forms of business activity. Critics may question whether such initiatives also seek to redirect women’s attention away from political mobilisation and the national movement. Its political relevance lies in the presentation of modernisation as a symbol of progress, which may also raise questions about the preservation of Baloch cultural identity and social norms. Although such training may offer valuable opportunities, its overall impact should be assessed alongside the broader political and social conditions affecting women in Balochistan.
The Women Bazaars, including Women Bazar Gwadar and the Women Bazaars in Sibi and Khuzdar, engage women by providing marketplaces for handicrafts, food products, and other goods. The Women’s Food Gala and Meena Bazaar held in Lasbela in December 2025 similarly showcased women’s commercial activities. These initiatives are promoted to encourage women to participate in economic life and develop an entrepreneurial mindset, although critics may argue that an excessive emphasis on consumption, material benefits, and financial incentives risks overshadowing broader political and social concerns. At the same time, bazaars and public festivals are highly visible forms of engagement through which the state presents an image of inclusion and economic development. These events provide temporary visibility for women’s participation in economic activities, while state media can subsequently use photographs and coverage to promote a narrative of peace and prosperity in Balochistan.
Similarly, the Women Internship Programme, listed by the Women Development Department, seeks to provide professional experience and support women’s entry into employment. This initiative engages women by connecting them with state institutions and their professional structures. From a critical perspective, questions arise over whether such opportunities encourage skilled Baloch women to devote their time and energy to state institutions rather than political activism and the national movement.
Taken together, these programmes demonstrate that the government’s engagement with women operates through several channels, including financial assistance, scholarships, training, entrepreneurship, employment, institutional participation, and public events. The central concern is that participants may be manipulated through forms of psychological influence intended to weaken their involvement in the national cause and encourage unquestioning acceptance of colonial rule. They are primarily presented as beneficiaries whose participation serves as evidence of the state’s supposed progress and social cohesion, despite the continuing political and human rights concerns in Balochistan. These events also shape how the state portrays its relationship with Baloch youth and women through media narratives, potentially diverting attention from the ongoing conflict and its consequences.
These concerns exist alongside the experiences of Baloch families who have suffered enforced disappearances, unlawful detention, extrajudicial killings, forced displacement, and other forms of state violence.
Women who receive state assistance and remain silent about their suffering cannot simply be expected to disregard the realities of the political system under which they live, particularly when they and their Nation have experienced state repression. Their participation is a evidence of political consent so that Before participating in state-sponsored events, Baloch women should therefore be encouraged to consider the broader political context, their experiences, and the implications of allowing their participation to be used to legitimise state narratives.
An excessive focus on travel opportunities, money, and material comforts will only weaken the ideological commitment of Baloch youth if these incentives are prioritised over political awareness and collective aspirations.
Baloch youth, especially Baloch women, should critically reconsider their participation in state-sponsored events and reflect on how their involvement will be represented or used to advance political narratives that do not reflect their own convictions. They should be able to distinguish between genuine empowerment and initiatives that may serve broader political interests.