00:00My name is Balochistan.
00:02My name is Balochistan.
00:04My name is Balochistan.
00:06My name is Balochistan.
00:08That line raises the main question in Pakistan's latest security crisis in Balochistan.
00:12Why are women now being shown as fighters and even suicide attackers
00:16in a movement that used to be mostly male?
00:18Between January 29th and February 2nd, 2026,
00:21a series of attacks across Balochistan killed dozens of civilians and security personnel,
00:26according to Pakistani authorities.
00:28But after the attacks, the banned Balochistan Liberation Army
00:32released images showing two women among the attackers, Asifa Mengel and Hawa Baloch.
00:37What seems sudden, however, is really ears in the making.
00:40The first confirmed female suicide attack came on April 26th, 2022,
00:44when Shari Baloch, a school teacher and a mother of two,
00:47carried out a bombing outside the Confucius Institute at Karachi University,
00:51killing three Chinese nationals.
00:53Since then, female attacks have taken place frequently in 2020, 2023, 2024 and 2025,
01:00forcing Pakistan's security forces to rethink long-held assumptions.
01:04For a long time, Baloch women were mostly seen on the streets protesting, not fighting.
01:09But in March 2025, activist Dr. Maharang Baloch was arrested during a peaceful sit-in in Quetta.
01:16Others were also detained or silenced.
01:19Many analysts see this as a turning point.
01:21Rights groups say over 5,000 people, mostly men have disappeared in Balochistan since 2000.
01:27With fathers, brothers and husbands missing or jailed,
01:30women increasingly became the visible face of Baloch anger.
01:34Some stayed with the protest, others moved towards armed resistance.
01:38Asifa and Hawa are young, educated and from families directly affected by the conflict.
01:44Asifa is said to have joined the Majeed Brigade in 2022 and was trained for high-risk operations.
01:50Hawa comes from a family that lost a male relative to the conflict,
01:54which the group uses to highlight personal sacrifice.
01:57Videos released by the BLA show both moving confidently in operational areas,
02:02armed and calm, often interacting with male fighters.
02:05Experts also note that their participation is strategic.
02:09Women can attract less immediate suspicion during checkpoints or surveillance,
02:13making them effective for certain operations.
02:16At the same time, their involvement grabs media attention and puts pressure on the Pakistani security forces.
02:22Whether their choices are fully voluntary or partly shared by grief, propaganda and coercion remains debated.
02:28But there is no doubt that figures like Asifa and Hawa are now front and centre in the narrative of the Baloch armed struggle.
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