In Quetta, citizens have been grappling with the impacts of a prevailing political crisis and worsening law and order situation. However, one woman is hoping against hope that the region’s lived experience will take a turn towards inclusivity and prosperity, after the upcoming general elections.

Sana Durrani is a 41-year-old socio-political activist who comes from extremely humble beginnings.

She holds Masters degrees in Political Science and Gender Studies and has developed a rapport in Balochistan for her efforts in the realms of social advocacy and human rights.

Despite being associated with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), she was overlooked by the party leadership while assigning tickets for prospective members of the provincial assembly.

However, she has submitted her nomination papers for a general seat in the provincial assembly, namely PB-43, entering the electoral fray as an independent candidate.

On election day, she is expected to face an uphill battle, going up against the likes of Mir Zafarullah Zehri, who comes from an influential family in Balochistan, as well as candidates backed by the PTI and PML-N. But this adversity will not stop Ms Durrani from giving it her best shot.

She has also worked on development projects in the region and currently serves as the chairperson of the Balochistan Women’s Building Association.

Ms Durrani tells Dawn that women often shy away from active politics due to a negative discourse surrounding women’s political vision and their “chances of success”.

“The nature of Baloch society is tribal, conservative and traditional, so many are led to believe that a woman is incapable of competing against a man,” says the independent candidate, hoping that as a result of her endeavours, the seed of change will be sown so these misconceptions can be removed.

Over the past three years, Ms Durrani has represented Balochistan on the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW), an autonomous statutory body under the government of Pakistan aimed at tackling gender disparities that arise as a result of their lack of financial autonomy, access to education and cases of domestic violence.

She says that civil society has lost trust in the political process due to the inability and incompetence of members of the ruling elite in defending fundamental rights and providing for the essential needs of citizens over the past few decades.

If she succeeds in her efforts, the first policy issue she hopes to take tackle is that of education.

“Out of 16,000 public schools in Balochistan, 10,000 schools are for boys, 672 are co-ed and only 4,000 are meant for girls,” she observes, adding that the gender gap in our educational framework is enormous and needs to be addressed.

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2024

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