Exploring the Factors Behind Women’s Political Marginalization in Balochistan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-v.341Keywords:
Women’s Political Participation, Balochistan, Political, Marginalization, Patriarchy, Tribal SystemAbstract
The objective of this study was to explore the trend of women's political marginalization in the Balochistan province of Pakistan, as well as the complex interplay of various factors in maintaining this trend. This study employed a qualitative methodology, basing its theoretical perspectives on Nancy Fraser's two-pronged approach of misrecognition and misdistribution in explaining the concept of inequality in the political lives of women. In addition, this study was based on in-depth interviews with a diverse group of participants. The findings of this study revealed that the political participation of women in the region was affected by the patriarchal ideology, the patriarchal norms, tribal politics, tribalism, the movement of women, the dependency of women on men, and the misapplication and misinterpretation of religion. All these factors are interrelated and interlinked in such a way that they create a cycle, which has led to the political marginalization of women in the region. In addition, the patriarchal ideology has led to the political class capturing the seats that were reserved for women, and the women are left with the role without any power to make any decisions. All these findings have led to the creation of a new historical trend of women's political marginalization in the region.
References
Abdullah, S. (2022). Examining the plight of imprisoned women in Balochistan: A critical analysis of socioeconomic challenges and gender inequality. Journal of International Relations and Social Dynamics, 1(2), 59–68.
Amjad, S. (2024). Breaking barriers: The opportunities and challenges of women in educational leadership in Balochistan. South Asian Journal of Management Sciences, 18(2), 117–132. https://doi.org/10.21621/sajms.2024182.02
Anwar, J. (2024). The problem of girls' education in rural Balochistan: A study of postcolonial Islamic governmentalities in Pakistan (Paper). RMIT University. https://doi.org/10.25439/rmt.27597447
Barrech, S., & Din, M. (2023). Prevalence and nature of domestic violence against women in Balochistan. Pakistan journal of applied social sciences, 14(1), 71–79. https://doi.org/10.46568/pjass.v14i1.690
Basheer, S., Khan, G., & Jan, A. (2024). Barriers to women's participation in politics: A comparative study of Districts Kech and Khuzdar, Balochistan. Journal of Asian Development Studies, 13(4), 461–471. https://doi.org/10.62345/jads.2024.13.4.38
Bugti, T. H., & Ali, W. A. (2023). The role of women in Balochistan's political process: Breaking barriers and expanding participation. Pakistan Journal of Social Research, 5(1), 670–673. https://pjsr.com.pk/2023/03/The-Role-of-Women-in-Balochistans-Political-Process.pdf
Choudhry, A. N., Mutalib, R. A., & Ismail, N. S. A. (2019). Socio-cultural factors affecting women's economic empowerment in Pakistan: A situation analysis. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 9(5), 90–102. https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v9-i5/5842
Ferdoos, A. (2025). Patriarchal dynamics and political participation: A comprehensive analysis of educated women's experiences in urban Pakistan. Wah Academia Journal of Social Sciences, 4(1), 415–440. https://doi.org/10.63954/WAJSS.4.1.22.2025
Fraser, N. (1997). Justice interruptus: Critical reflections on the postsocialist condition. Routledge.
Ghafoor, S. A., Baloch, M. A., & Murtaza, G. (2023). Socio-cultural challenges to women's political participation in Makran, Balochistan. Journal of Quranic & Social Studies, 3(2), 24–36. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10182358
Islam, H., & Shah, N. A. (2022). An analytical study on socio-economic conditions of women living in Lasbela District of Balochistan. The Women – Annual Research Journal of Gender Studies, 14, 86–104. https://sujo.usindh.edu.pk/index.php/THE-WOMEN/article/view/6143
Kakar, M. M., Rahim, M., & Ali, S. (2023). Balochistan women in politics: An examination of political participation and its effects on women’s empowerment in Balochistan, Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 11(2), 1027–1034. https://doi.org/10.52131/pjhss.2023.1102.0414
Khan, T. A., & Hashmi, N. (2021). Women political participation and their role in the socio-economic development of Balochistan. Pakistan Journal of Society, Education & Language, 8(1), 305–313. https://pjsel.jehanf.com/index.php/journal/article/view/650
Manzoor, B., Kakepoto, H., & Brohi, A. A. (2025). A sociological exploration of institutional, sociocultural, and economic barriers to women's higher education aspirations in Balochistan. Indus Journal of Social Sciences, 3(1), 70–86. https://doi.org/10.59075/ijss.v3i1.536
Noreen, N., & Musarrat, R. (2013). Protection of women’s rights through legal reforms in Pakistan. Journal of Public Administration and Governance, 3(4), 119–142. https://doi.org/10.5296/jpag.v3i4.5059
Qadri, S., & Umer, N. (2015). Women empowerment and political democratization in Pakistan with reference to General Pervez Musharraf regime. Public Policy and Administration Research, 5(10), 111–116. https://scispace.com/pdf/women-empowerment-and-political-democratization-in-pakistan.pdf
Umer, S., Hassan, K. H., & Othman, Z. (2016). Role and challenges of NGOs in empowering women in rural areas of Balochistan, Pakistan. Journal of Governance and Development, 12(2), 13–30. https://e-journal.uum.edu.my/index.php/jgd/en/article/view/13383/3052
United Nations Women. (2020). International feminism: What it means and why it matters right now. UN Women.
Zain, K., Abd Hamid, I. S. A., & Rahman, M. (2020). Empowerment of women through family welfare programs (PKK) based on gender equality in Nauru Wife in Payunga Village, Batudaa, Gorontalo District. International Journal of Innovations in Engineering Research and Technology, 7(9), 75–79. https://repo.ijiert.org/index.php/ijiert/article/view/139
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.


