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Women from Pakistan’s Balochistan province hailed in artworks for their sacrifices amid insurgency

  • The struggles of Baloch women in coping with the loss of their loved ones were showcased in an art exhibition in Karachi
  • Pakistan was hit by a wave of militant attacks last year, including those targeting China-linked projects in Balochistan

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“The Conversation Behind the Canvas” by Ahmed ibn e Sakeena. Photo: Ahmed Ibn e Sakeena
In the past few years, Pakistan’s southwest province of Balochistan has experienced a spike in insurgent attacks amid widespread accusations of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in the conflict.
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For a group of artists from the province, art is the medium through which they can capture the agony suffered by women in the province as the decades-long separatist insurgency rages on.

Among them is Ahmed Ibn e Sakeena, whose painting The Conversation Behind the Canvas shows three women wearing pashk – a traditional embroidered long dress – and anguished expressions over the disappearances of their family members for many years due to the conflict.

“This painting unveils a conversation that spans three generations of women. My artwork strives to contribute to a deeper understanding of the connections between art, activism, and the resilient narratives of Baloch women,” 34-year-old Sakeena told This Week In Asia.

Works by Baloch artists were showcased at an exhibition in Karachi last week to commemorate 37-year-old Karima Baloch, a Baloch human rights activist who was found dead in Toronto, Canada in 2021. Karima’s family has alleged that she was killed because of her activism.

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