Here is a real and poignant story of a female from Khuzdar, who first lost her eyes and then her spinal nervous system owing to unrelenting domestic torture in her in-laws’ home. Gul Bibi’s story begins with her love story. A charming, elegant, and energetic girl was once trapped by a driver. In his local mini-bus, Gul Bibi and her family used to go to Sindh. Gul Bibi mistook the lust of a man for love. Although she was engaged to her cousin, she had no affection for her fiancé. According to some sources, her dislike for him was because of his indulgence in drug abuse, while others say he became addicted after Gul Bibi’s breakup with him.

Gul Bibi made up her mind that she would not marry her cousin, but the man whom she loved. This put her in a lot of turbulence and resistance from her family and relatives. Finally, she won the war against them. Gul Bibi got married to her love in a tremendous wedding ceremony.

In the first year of marriage, she could not enjoy her newly married life as her in-laws began punishing her for marrying their son by her own choice. A lady who marries a man by breaking traditions is not considered worthy of dignity and respect. Gul Bibi’s husband would not be at home most of the time due to work. The unbearable physical and emotional torture was not restricted to her father and mother-in-law; her brother and sister-in-law joined in. As a result, Gul Bibi lost her eyesight. By this time, she had given birth to two babies as well.

One might think of Gul Bibi’s family as a rescue. Where were her father and brothers or other members? They should have guarded her. In an orthodox and conservative society, a woman’s freedom of choice is considered a crime. Even her family ignored her plight and did not give her shelter.

They proved themselves honorable to society by denying protection to a sinner. Secondly, she had broken and weakened blood relations, and now she had to face the consequences.

Blindness put Gul Bibi in dire misery. Hitherto, she was able to take care of her kids, her husband, and do home chores. Now her husband, kids, and she were going to be a burden on others. The level of torture on Gul Bibi escalated due to her inability to perform her duties well.

Adding insult to injury, despite her blindness, Gul Bibi was a valuable object for her husband to give him offspring. In that situation, she gave birth to three more kids. Every child added to her misery. Once again, she was pregnant, but this time the in-laws stopped giving her enough food. She would go to neighbors’ homes to ask for food. Any neighbor who assisted her faced criticism from her in-laws.

Unfortunately, Gul Bibi’s children, growing up in an environment of their mother’s ill-treatment and torment, adopted it as learned behavior. They would also beat and mistreat their mother. Gul Bibi’s last hope was her children. The disability and infliction of pain by others were not breaking her womanly resilience, patience, and perseverance. She would ask her children for some water, but they wouldn’t listen to her.

With no one left to assist her, she would call her neighbors. They would give her food and water for a transitional time, but the fear of her in-laws didn’t let them continue for long. Having bad luck, the pregnancy and starvation led Gul Bibi to lose control over passing urine and feces, possibly due to damage to her spinal nerves.

Gul Bibi was taken to her sister’s home after continuous criticism from people for ignoring their sister. However, her sister couldn’t take care of her much due to her own responsibilities at home. Only death could safeguard Gul Bibi from the longevity of pain, and she died at her sister’s home recently.

The tragic story of Gul Bibi and many others in our society raises the question: what are the structural flaws that lead to such horrific incidents of domestic violence against women?

There are many reasons behind this, but the foremost is the disparity in education. The lack of girls’ education is a formidable reason. In Khuzdar, the educational disparity between boys and girls remains significant. There are only two girls’ colleges: one elementary and one degree college. The degree college’s students often remain absent due to fuel issues for the college buses. From 2021 to 2023, the buses were stopped because of the unavailability of fuel from the Balochistan Government.

Similarly, biases, cultural norms, and limited resources contribute to the pitiable situation of women. Financial dependency is another leading problem; therefore, many women don’t separate from an abusive husband and his family.

How can this problem of gender inequality and women’s suffering be resolved?

First, policies should be made by the Balochistan Government to promote girls’ education, and the Balochistan Education Sector Plan 2020-25 must be implemented in spirit and letter. Access to market business and vocational training should be given to women, so they can become financially independent. Empowering women through the provision of health facilities and social services is also crucial. Women should be encouraged to pursue a variety of jobs rather than being confined to traditional roles in teaching or medicine.

Working on the provision of these basic economic and social services is indispensable for a greater level of change in the lives of women in our society.