Breaking Silence, Finding Voices: Twenty-three Balochi short stories by women writers with English translations

This book presents twenty-three Balochi short stories in the Balochi-Latin and Balochi-Arabic scripts, along with English translations. The stories have been edited to correspond to the grammatical and orthographic standards adopted by the Balochi Language Project, and are arranged according to four themes: Fear, Revenge, Nostalgia, and Hope. 

All of the stories were written by women authors. Some are still alive and active, while others are deceased. Some have had long and prolific literary careers, and others have only just begun their literary journeys. 

Most of the stories in this collection were written in the last ten years. They reflect a multi-faceted society in which many women are still married off at the whim of their relatives, while others are fighting for political freedom alongside their Baloch brothers. 

The protagonists are women in several of the stories, though not all. These female protagonists are often depicted as having suffered poverty, rejection and injustice at the hands of both their own communities and the state. In some stories, the struggle of women to find their role in the public space is very tangible. The title of the book was chosen as a tribute to the women writers who have dared to step outside the traditional comfort zone of Baloch women and give a voice to the previously silent half of Balochistan’s population.

We, the editors of this book, also harbour a hope that motivates us to continue striving towards a brighter future for the Balochi language. With this volume, we wish to provide interesting reading that will encourage our Baloch brothers and sisters to actively read and write their own language, and we hope that many Baloch will be moved to take action for the survival of Balochi.