DERA ISMAIL KHAN: In a powerful and rare show of defiance, women in Pakistan’s Tank district poured into the streets on Friday, cloaked in their traditional shuttlecock burqas, to protest the relentless and extreme power outages plaguing their city, reported by Dawn News on Saturday.
Tank, a city gripped by an intensifying energy crisis, is suffering from electricity outages lasting more than 20 hours a day. The prolonged and unannounced loadshedding has thrown daily life into chaos, turning homes into ovens under the scorching sun and pushing residents into sheer misery.
With little to no electricity, life has become unbearable. Women, who shoulder the burden of household responsibilities, are struggling to cook, clean, and care for their families. Businesses are grinding to a halt, and the local economy is suffocating.
Calling the outages “cruel and inhumane,” angry residents blamed the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) for its gross negligence and poor management. For the people of Tank, these blackouts are more than a nuisance—they are a daily nightmare.
In a rare and striking move, women and children joined the men in protest, filling the streets with passionate voices and raised fists. They marched side by side, chanting slogans against the authorities and demanding justice.
The protest was led by social worker Sanam Gul Tator and Awami National Party’s district president Fazal Kareem Tator. Their leadership galvanized the crowd, which grew larger as frustration boiled over into unity and action.
Protesters demanded an immediate reduction in loadshedding hours and warned that if their cries were ignored, they would escalate their protests. Plans for region-wide sit-ins and larger demonstrations are already being discussed.
The message from Tank is clear: the people will not suffer in silence any longer. They have found their voice—and it’s electrifying.
