In circumstances where poverty, unemployment and a lack of essential services have made life difficult for many families, mutual support within communities can be one way to reduce dependency on those in power.
Of course, governments remain responsible for guaranteeing people's fundamental rights and meeting their basic needs. Nevertheless, communities can also use their own resources and abilities to reduce some of these dependencies.
For example, small mutual-aid networks can be established in neighbourhoods and villages so that families struggling to afford food, healthcare or other essential needs are not left alone or forced to comply with unjust demands in exchange for assistance.
Supporting small businesses, women's traditional Baloch embroidery, skills training and local economic cooperation can also create more opportunities for independent income.
Even sharing a skill or personal experience may help someone else discover a new way to earn a living.
However, such cooperation is more effective when we can reduce divisions and mistrust within our own communities.
In Balochistan, religious, political, family or local disagreements should not prevent people from working together to address shared problems.
Despite our differences in opinion, we can stand together in defending one another's rights and meeting our communities' needs.
At the same time, we should not blame or exclude those who have become dependent on powerful individuals or institutions because of poverty or threats.
More than anything, these individuals need support and alternative opportunities so that, wherever it is safe and possible, they can move away from the circumstances in which they have become trapped.
In Balochistan, another aspect of this dependency is connected to the influence of certain tribal leaders, community elders and religious figures.
Governments can use the social standing of these individuals and the trust that communities place in them to advance their own policies.
Of course, many such individuals work to resolve disputes and address the problems faced by their communities. Our concern is specifically with those who knowingly use their social credibility to support unjust and repressive decisions.
One way to reduce this dependency is for people not to make important decisions about their lives and futures solely on the advice or authority of one influential individual.
Respect for community elders, tribal leaders or religious figures should not mean unquestioningly accepting every decision they make.
People in each neighbourhood or village can discuss shared concerns together and ensure that women, young people and families whose voices are often overlooked also have a role in decision-making.
Similarly, efforts to resolve people's problems, from obtaining assistance and public services to pursuing their rights, should not, wherever possible, depend exclusively on the mediation of a single influential individual.
When communities work together to find more ways of addressing their difficulties, there are fewer opportunities for others to exploit their needs.
Social standing should never give anyone the authority to make decisions on behalf of an entire community or to consent to unjust decisions in its name.
Most importantly, these forms of support should not be limited to times of crisis.
We need to build lasting relationships based on trust and cooperation, where helping others does not become a means of controlling them or demanding something in return.
These actions may seem small, but when people can rely more on one another, their dependency on those who exploit their needs and deprivation can decrease.
The aim is not to place responsibility for repression on ordinary people. The aim is to prevent poverty, fear and self-interest from turning us against one another.
Finally, I want to return to the statement attributed to Simone de Beauvoir:
“The oppressor would not be so strong if he did not have accomplices among the oppressed themselves.”
This statement reminds us that the continuation of oppression does not depend solely on the power of those at the top of government. The deliberate cooperation of those who benefit from such conditions can also help sustain it.
Conversely, every step taken to reduce dependency, support one another and strengthen solidarity can weaken part of this cycle.
Because a society in which people do not abandon one another during difficult times is less likely to allow poverty and basic needs to become tools for maintaining power and perpetuating oppression.