Mahrang Baloch
Mahrang Baloch | |
|---|---|
| مهرنگ بلۏچ | |
 Mahrang Baloch during her visit to Oslo | |
| Born | c. 1993 (age 30–31) |
| Alma mater | Bolan Medical College |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Organization | Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC)[1] |
| Known for | Activism for the human rights of the Baloch people. |
| Parent |
|
Mahrang Baloch (Urdu: ماہ رنگ بلوچ; Balochi: مهرنگ بلۏچ) is a Pakistani Baloch human rights activist against alleged enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and other human rights abuses in Balochistan.[2][3][4][5] Mahrang leads the Baloch Yakjehti Committee ("Baloch Unity Committee"), a human rights movement based in Balochistan.[6] On 28 July 2024, she was part of the Baloch Raji Muchi ("Baloch National Gathering") in Gwadar, an event aimed at uniting the Baloch against these abuses.[7]
Biography
[edit]Mahrang was born in 1993 into a Baloch family. Her father Abdul Gaffar Langove was a laborer.[6] Her family lived in Quetta before relocating to Karachi for her mother's medical care.
Activism
[edit]On 12 December 2009, her father was abducted by Pakistan security forces on his way to the hospital in Karachi.[2][3] At the age of 16, she immediately started protesting his abduction and became known in the student resistance movement.[2][3][4] In July 2011, her father was found dead with signs of torture.[2][3]
Her brother was later abducted by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in December 2017, and was detained for over 3 months.[3][4][8] Since then, she has been one of the prominent figure in the Baloch resistance movement.[2][3][4][5]
She has protested the government's extraction of natural resources from Balochistan.[2][9] In 2020, she led a group of students protesting the proposed removal of the quota system at Bolan Medical College, which reserves spots for medical students from remote areas of the province.[2] As a result of the group's activism and hunger strikes, the proposed policy change was cancelled.[2]
Recent developments
[edit]2023 Baloch Long March
[edit]The Baloch Long March was a protest movement led by Mahrang Baloch and other Baloch women activists from the BYC, journeying from Turbat to Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, to protest human rights violations and enforced disappearances in Balochistan.[10][11][1] According to the BYC, the protestors were abducted by the ISI,[12] and detained by Islamabad Police.[13] Later a bail was approved that resulted in release of some participants,[14][15][16][13] though many were missing as per media reports and lawyers.[17]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Baloch Activists March to Pakistani Capital to Demand End to Extrajudicial Killings". 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Baloch, Shah Meer (18 February 2021). "Mahrang Baloch and the Struggle Against Enforced Disappearances". South Asian Avant-Garde. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Veengas (28 May 2022). "The Assault by Pakistan on Baloch People's Rights Has Now Reached Women". The Wire India. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d Baloch, Shah Meer (12 November 2021). "Women lead fight against extrajudicial killing in Pakistan". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
- ^ a b Bin Javaid, Osama (4 May 2022). "Why are people disappearing in Balochistan?" (Podcast, 20 min 12 sec). The Take by Al Jazeera. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
- ^ a b Hussain, Zahid (31 July 2024). "Trouble in Balochistan". Dawn. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
- ^ "Why protest by ethnic Baloch has put Pakistan's key port of Gwadar on edge". Al Jazeera. 31 July 2024.
- ^ "Balochistan: Son of slain Baloch political activist abducted from Quetta". Balochwarna/>. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ "Pakistan: Activist Mahrang urges IOPC's 'undivided attention' to sufferings of Baloch people - www.lokmattimes.com". Lokmat English. 24 January 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ "Women Are Leading an Unprecedented Protest Movement in Balochistan". thediplomat.com.
- ^ "As Baloch Women Raise Their Voices, the State Cracks Down". thediplomat.com.
- ^ VoicePk (2 January 2024). "12 persons abducted from Balochistan despite long march, while caretaker PM accuses Baloch protestors of being 'funded'". Voicepk.net. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ a b "Pakistani police free 290 Baloch activists arrested while protesting extrajudicial killings". AP News. 25 December 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
- ^ "22 out of over 50 missing Baloch students recovered, IHC told". The Nation. 30 November 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ Sigamony, Terence J. (30 November 2023). "IHC told: 22 out of over 50 missing Baloch students recovered". Brecorder. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ Jannat, Zarghona (24 December 2023). "Baloch Protesters Released: Islamabad's Bail Approval". Markhor Times. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
- ^ "22 out of over 50 missing Baloch students recovered, IHC told". The Nation. 30 November 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
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