At the fourth Minority Forum at the United Nations in November 2011 in Geneva, which was dedicated to the situation of women and how to improve it, reports showed that in countries where discrimination exists for certain groups of people based on language, religion, or social status, women belonging to these discriminated and oppressed communities are subjected to multiple forms of discrimination and oppression compared to men in the same community.

These reports and analyses were mostly about countries that, in their constitution, grant equal rights to women and men. This is while in the Iranian constitution, there are articles that legalize gender, linguistic, national, and religious discrimination. These laws have particularly oppressed women from minority groups, facing many challenges in their struggle to achieve their rights.

The Baloch culture, which is reflected in Balochi poetry and folklore, tells the story of women’s participation in all aspects of social and cultural life in times of war and peace.

This point is also evident in the writings of English officers who traveled to regions such as Pashtun, Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan, Kerman, and other areas of Iran after the 17th century AD. Lieutenant Henry Pottinger, who traveled to Balochistan in the early 18th century, writes: “They treat their women with respect, manners, and delicacy, and unlike other Muslims, they do not have ignorant prejudices and are not bothered by seeing them with a foreigner in a simple and ordinary manner.” In another part of his travelogue, he says: “As I mentioned before, women are not separated from the company of men and they all live and eat together at the same table.” (1)

General Sir Percy Sykes, who did not have a good opinion of the Baloch people due to their resistance in preserving the independence of Balochistan against the British, also admits in his travelogue: “It is worth mentioning that the Baloch people are completely honest and trustworthy. If they are entrusted with something valuable, a document or writing, they will never betray it and will not hesitate to risk their lives to protect it. Furthermore, they are commendable in their morals, as they treat their wives equally and justly.” (2)

Mr. Ali Akbar Jafari wrote in his article titled “Baloch and Balochi” in the year 1342 in the magazine “Sokhan” and confirmed that in Baloch tribal society, women have remarkably equal rights to men. He wrote: “Women are present alongside Baloch men, whether in agriculture and livestock, in society and community, or in associations.” (3)

In relation to the changing position of women in Baloch society, Silvia Mathison, an anthropologist familiar with Baloch society, says in a conversation with Anatol Levin: “In the past, women had many freedoms in Baloch society. Women played important political and military roles in the leadership of Balochistan in the independent government of Kalat, the capital. Even now, this discrimination against women in Baloch society is not common. Mathison says, “Gender segregation in Baloch society is a new phenomenon, probably after the contact of Baloch society with other communities, gender segregation and discrimination have found their way into Baloch society.” Anatol Levin also writes in his book that: “Later, I met a Baloch aristocrat, Rabina Irfan, who was a representative of the National Party of Balochistan, who had done good work for women in the region through her charity organization and was even the most influential force in creating the women’s football team

In Iran, Baloch women have also been able to demonstrate their abilities in social and professional activities. Currently, according to statistics from the Iranian Statistical Center, 16% of managerial positions in the mentioned province are held by women, and women in this province are more employed compared to some other provinces; 86,622 women are currently employed in the province (although this number may be due to the larger population of Sistan and Baluchestan compared to those provinces). Currently, Baluchestan is among the limited provinces in Iran where women hold positions such as mayor, governor, member of parliament, and other high-ranking positions.

As it is evident, Baloch men have used the help of central governments to exclude women from social, cultural, and economic spheres in order to establish communication with society. Today, some Baloch men justify segregation and discrimination in the name of Baloch culture; in this act, they also benefit from the patriarchal laws imposed by the governments of Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan under the guise of religion. These governments also create suitable grounds for this segregation and discrimination by investing in education and promoting anti-women religious culture.

However, what is clear is that Baloch women have a lesser role in various social spheres compared to the past history of Baloch society. This phenomenon is evident for those who come to Balochistan today for work, travel, or trade. Mr. Mahmoud Dolatabadi describes his experience of traveling to Zahedan in his book “Meeting Baloch”: “So far, if I want to say something, I can only give a picture of them as dignified and outwardly smiling… People here, in the eyes of someone like me, meaning men: (because women are invisible and out of sight.) Most of them walk and sit with dignity, calmness, and inner confidence, paying little attention to the outside, wearing heavy and preferred clothing, and observing.” (6)

The connection between the Balochistan community and conservative Arab societies in neighboring countries, where a large number of people have chosen to live and work, has also helped to normalize and reduce gender discrimination.

Supporters of sexual equality in Balochistan face a difficult path ahead to once again elevate Baloch women to an equal status with men, both legally and in other social spheres within society.

Patinger, Henry, Travel to Sindh and Balochistan: Geographical and Historical Conditions, translated by Shahpour Goodarzi, Dehkoda Bookstore Publications, 1348, pp. 66-67 and 76.

2- “Sikes, Inquiry, General Sikes’ Travelogue or Ten Thousand Miles in Iran”, translated by Hossein Saadat Noori, Aseman Printing House, 1363, pages 154-155.

3- Ja’fari, Ali Akbar, Baloch and Balochi, Magazine of Speech: No. 14, 8 and 9, 1342.

4- Levin, Anatole, Pakistan – a difficult country, Penguin books, page 358.

5- Barahui, Narjes Khatun, Growth of Women’s Economic and Social Participation in Sistan and Baluchestan, Donyaye Eghtesad Newspaper, 4 Ordibehesht 1392.

6- Dolat Abadi, Mahmoud, Didar-e Baluch, Peyvand/Shabgir Publications, First Edition, Tehran, 1383, p. 5.