Banari Mengal has all the attributes of a great woman leader but her two male chauvinist cousins, Noorullah and Bhawal, created a storm over her picture from a London party and forced purdah on her. In this backdrop, when a girl from a feudal family from Wadh obtains her bachelor’s of law from the University of East Anglia and her Master’s in Asian politics from the School of Oriental Studies, London, and who is passionate about social and political issues emerges, you would assume she would rise to the level of women leaders from the neighboring Sindh and Punjab provinces.

Sindh produced the Daughter of the East, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, who was twice premier of Pakistan. Punjab produced the present chief minister, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, who might in the future become the prime minister of Pakistan.

Briton Bhawal Mengal, also an advocate for free Balochistan, like elder brother was livid to see Banari Mengal picture in which she was sitting at a party.

However, God-forsaken Balochistan has a different story. Banari Mengal public debut was blocked allegedly by her two male cousins, Noordin Mengal and Bhawal Mengal, both Britons, who are champions of a free Balochistan.

Baloch insiders say they saw Banari Mengal’s picture sitting at a London party and created a storm over it, forcing the dynamic woman leader into complete purdah.

Queries sent to London-based Noordin Mengal and his father Javed Mengal, who Pakistan authorities say head the militant Lashkar-I-Balochistan, to seek their view on the matter were not responded until the filing of this report.

Banari Mengal is co-founder along with Sikandar Bizenjo of the Baloch Youth Action Committee. The BYAC gained world attention when Bill Gates mentioned the organization in his book “How to prevent the next pandemic.” Mr Bizenjo did not answer a question sent to him about Ms Mengal’s strict purdah, which puts even Bushra Bibi, wife of jailed premier Imran Khan to shame.

Ms Mengal is daughter of Sardar Akhtar Mengal and grand daughter of Sardar Attaullah Mengal, both former chief ministers of Balochistan. Her maternal grandfather Aslam Gichki, a former guerilla leader and member of the nobility from Mekran was assassinated in a politically motivated tribal dispute.

The father, Sardar Akhtar Mengal, also heads the Balochistan National Party and was put in a cage during the military regime of Gen Pervez Musharraf, earning the title Baloch Nelson Mandela.

Central Information Secretary of the Balochistan National Party, Agha Hasan Baloch— a former federal minister— reached on the phone in Quetta, said the reasons why Banari Mengal has never been seen in public. “She is simply a house wife and her involvement is limited to posts on social media.” He said he would get back why the U.K. educated young woman, daughter of his party chief, was in complete purdah.

However, the Linked In profile of the Baloch woman leader tells a different story. “My multifaceted interests converge with a singular goal: to contribute meaningfully to the betterment of Baloch women. Whether through grassroots activism, legal advocacy, or entrepreneurial endeavors, I am driven by a profound sense of purpose and a steadfast commitment to fostering positive change in our community and beyond.”

Banari Mengal did challenge the established Baloch feudal norms where a girl is married against her wishes, mostly to a cousin, by marrying her SOAS sweet heart from Attock in the Punjab province, Malik Mohammad Shamsher Aslam. Attock, along with Chakwal, Jhelum and Rawalpindi form what is called the Potohar region.

Potohar is the area that produces Pakistan military generals with whom the Mengals had been at odds for more than half century now. Banari Mengal’s eldest uncle Asadullah Mengal was one of the first victims of enforced disappearances at the hands of military spooks and his body was never found.

The tying of nuptial knots took place with fanfare in Dubai. Former senator and member of national and provincial assembly, Sana Baloch, confirmed on the phone he attended the wedding. Mr Aslam is son of Malik Amin Aslam, an environmentalist who was special assistant to former premier Imran Khan on climate change.

Munir Mengal, commoner of the Mengal tribe and human rights defender based in Paris is not impressed by the feudal family. “Most of the elite females use swimming pools, gyms, and wear mini-skirts outside of Balochistan. But they hide their faces and wear burqah in Balochistan to show their superiority and hide their ugly faces from their own people.”

Baloch are extremely xenophobic when it comes to marrying a woman to a man from any other ethnic group in Pakistan (This writer’s eldest sister was married to a sheikh from Kasur in 1971 and majority of the members of the extended family boycotted the wedding.)

“Credit must be given to Sardar Akhtar Mengal for fully supporting his daughter in her choice,” said London-based Baloch lawyer Shayak Bizenjo, whose father Sherdil Bizenjo, heads the Tumrani subtribe of the Bizenjos.

It is not clear why Sardar Akhtar Mengal conceded to the diktat of his two British nephews, Noordin and Bhawal. Thankfully, the two Britons seem not to be offended if their cousin posted her childhood pictures.

Miami-based Dr Tara Chand, who served as government minister when Sardar Akhtar Mengal was chief minister of Balochistan in the mid-1990s, vehemently protests singling out his former boss for purdah of the daughter, “You should criticize the daughters and wives of all the chieftains. Which chieftain's daughter or wife's photo have you seen?“