BLA has admitted that many women have carried out suicide operations. Their participation signifies that the Baloch insurgency has moved on from being a tribal movement to transform into a struggle of the educated and the middle class

Balochistan Liberation Army(BLA) is a terrorist organization that has carried out many attacks across Pakistan, particularly in the Balochistan region by both male and female terrorists. BLA has admitted that many women have carried out suicide operations. Their participation signifies that the Baloch insurgency has moved on from being a tribal movement to transform into a struggle of the educated and the middle class, open to women’s participation in combat roles. Earlier women’s role in insurgency was not to fight but later on, BLA carried out attacks by using them. Women’s involvement in political violence and terrorism has evolved over the past two decades, assuming a wider range of roles.

At first, BLA employed traditional explosives and target killings methodology but then they changed their tactics and went for suicide attacks. For that, there could be various reasons like increasing fear among people and also to motivate others as to how only one person has sacrificed himself for the sake of the cause. So they carried out their first suicide attack in 1971. Then after many years, they committed the second suicide attack in 2010 which led to the emergence of a group named Majeed Brigade.

Mostly BLA has carried out vehicle-borne attacks as they result in a high level of destruction with worst type of psychological impacts. The vehicle-borne suicide attack was carried out in December 2011 to kill Shafeeq Mengal. Later on, the brigade did a second one after 7 years on a bus  carrying Chinese engineers in August 2018. The most recent one was an attack using a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device executed by Fahad Shah near the Karachi airport.

BLA was successful in launching female terrorists and they were able to show the world how Balochi women fearlessly carried out these attacks

BLA was successful in launching female terrorists and they were able to show the world how Balochi women fearlessly carried out these attacks. The 30-year-old mother of two, Shari Baloch, killed four people, including three Chinese instructors, in a suicide explosion at Karachi University’s Confucius Centre in April 2022. it shocked Pakistan and forced the remaining Chinese employees to flee. The assault appeared to signal a change in the violent strategies and recruitment practices of Baloch terrorists.

No woman had ever carried out such an attack in the twenty years of the present separatist conflict for Balochistan’s independence. People were even more shocked to learn that she was a teacher at a public school in Balochistan, had a master’s degree in education, and hailed from an educated middle-class family. BLA just expanded their agenda and then carried out other attacks to clearly announce a leadership role for women suicide bombers to achieve their objectives.

They showed the world by using such qualified women from solid economic backgrounds as suicide bombers that they were in a position where they have support by important figures to achieve their targets

They showed the world by using such qualified women from solid economic backgrounds as suicide bombers that they were in a position where they have support by important figures to achieve their targets. They did not stop here and a second attack was carried out in June 2023, only a year later. Another female suicide bomber, Sumaiya Qalandrani Baloch, hit a Pakistani military convoy in the Turbat district of Balochistan. According to the Balochistan Liberation Army’s (BLA) statement “Women’s active participation in the armed struggle has begun.” Before the assault, Sumaiya, 25, was a computer science bachelor’s degree candidate working for Hakkal.

The main focus of BLA is the area that could directly harm the status of the government in any way. They attacked educational institutes and state officials to increase the fear among people. Then in a report published by The Balochistan Post, it was stated that the Balochistan government held a press conference in Quetta, and presented a woman from Turbat, allegedly named Adeela, as a potential suicide bomber who had been caught before she could carry out her “mission.” The event was led by Shahid Rind and Farah Azeem Shah, who presented Adeela as a significant threat to Balochistan’s security.

Women terrorists can play an important role in propaganda by emotionally manipulating people

Even if women terrorists don’t fight themselves, they can still incite others to assault and disseminate extreme ideologies. Women terrorists can play an important role in propaganda by emotionally manipulating people.

Female attacks are considered more easy to carry out, especially in Islamic states. This is because the security checking systems are not strict for women. The machines that can see the body naked to check if an individual is hiding something or not are not available in Islamic states because of Shariah. Even if they were available their use would be aggressively resisted by the people. For security purposes, female security guards have been employed now especially in sensitive areas. Saudi Arabia has taken a few initiatives in which Saudi women must uncover their faces for security checks. Saudi Arabian authorities have rejected a conservative proposal to allow women to keep their faces covered during security checks.

Many female activists have also taken up leadership roles in activist groups, focusing on enforced disappearances, extrajudicial arrests, and dissident assassinations. The most prominent woman leader is Mahrang Baloch.

Traditionally, a woman is considered vulnerable so she can be easily coerced and controlled in many situations. In Balochi culture, women are considered soft and things like suicide attacks are never expected of them so it was surprising for everyone when the first Baloch woman carried out an attack. Besides terrorism, now Balochi women are changing their image as many female activists have also taken up leadership roles in activist groups, focusing on enforced disappearances, extrajudicial arrests, and dissident assassinations. The most prominent woman leader is Mahrang Baloch.

In case of terrorism, it is not always about how women can get brainwashed easily. There could be other reasons also including pressure from their family and terrorists or rape threats and also the aim of taking revenge from the ones who may have some sort of role in destroying their family. Adeela, a suicide bomber, stated that “They led me astray in such a way that I agreed to commit suicide. I did not even think that after the suicide attack, I would not only lose my life but also how many could lose theirs lives too because of me.”

Terrorists are blackmailing and misleading Baloch women to trap them for committing terrorism in the Balochistan province. Women in Balochistan are facing issues where they face frequent killings of their men, or they go missing.

Therefore, emotional stress could be the reason to take such hard steps with BLA exploiting them through their narrative. This is the reason that we have seen more female attacks in recent times. Women Terrorists are now more active and using all the tools for their cause. Educated ones can better use tactics to achieve their targets and are better aware of how to handle tricky situations, so terrorists are more focused on women who have gone through hard times, especially with reference to their men.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not represent the views, beliefs, or policies of the Stratheia.