When Aqsa Durrani enrolled in journalism institute, she imagined herself sitting behind a television news desk, delivering headlines to millions. Like many young women in Balochistan, she believed journalism would allow her to tell stories that mattered and give a voice to communities often left unheard. But the profession she entered was far different from the one she had imagined.

“I always wanted to become a television news anchor,” she recalled. “But the opportunities for women in Balochistan are extremely limited. Even becoming a field reporter is considered a major achievement.”

Durrani’s experience reflects a wider reality facing women journalists across Pakistan’s largest and least developed province. Although more women are graduating with journalism and media degrees than ever before, many either never enter the profession or leave within a few years. Their departures are rarely driven by a single reason. Instead, they result from a combination of shrinking employment opportunities, financial insecurity, workplace harassment, safety concerns, social expectations, and the absence of institutional support.

As Pakistan’s media industry struggles with economic decline, newsroom closures, and staff layoffs, these challenges have become even more severe in Balochistan, where journalism has always been one of the country’s most difficult professions. For women, the burden is heavier. They face the same professional risks as their male colleagues while also navigating gender discrimination, cultural restrictions, and limited opportunities for career growth.

For many, the dream of becoming a journalist begins with hope but ends in disappointment.

“When I entered journalism, there were only two or three women working as reporters in Quetta,” Durrani said. “Years later, that number has hardly changed. Many women join the profession with enthusiasm, but eventually leave after facing harassment, insecurity, and a lack of support.”

What troubles her most, however, is that the greatest challenges are not always encountered while reporting in the field.

“People often think the danger is outside,” she said. “But sometimes women don’t even feel safe inside their own newsrooms. When complaints are raised, they may face pressure, blame, or even lose their jobs instead of receiving support.”

Her story illustrates a problem that extends far beyond one individual. Across Balochistan, talented women are leaving journalism not because they lack commitment or ability, but because the profession often fails to provide the conditions needed to build a sustainable career.

Former television reporter Abida Kalem understands that reality all too well. After spending nearly nine years in broadcast journalism, she made the difficult decision to walk away from a profession she deeply loved.

“My passion was never about money,” she said. “Yes, salaries were low, and we often spent our own earnings on reporting. But that wasn’t why I left.”

Instead, she points to relentless workplace pressure, internal politics, and the absence of institutional support.

“I reached a point where I had no choice,” Kalem said. “The pressure affected my mental health. I no longer felt safe in my own workplace.”

She believes many media organizations expect journalists to deliver breaking news under difficult conditions while paying little attention to their safety, well-being, or professional needs. Without meaningful reforms, she warns, more experienced women will continue leaving journalism, taking with them years of knowledge, public trust, and stories that deserve to be told.

For many women in Balochistan, leaving journalism is not the end of a dream—it is a decision forced upon them by a profession that too often asks for sacrifice without offering security in return.

Newsroom Layoffs to Digital Survival

When Natasha Shah lost her job at GNN News, she feared her career in journalism had come to an end. Like many young reporters, she had entered television journalism believing it offered a stable future. Instead, shrinking newsrooms and financial crises forced her to rethink everything she had planned.

“My journey at GNN was short, but it was where everything began,” she said. “Leaving was heartbreaking because I was still learning and wanted to grow.”

Rather than abandoning journalism, Shah chose a different path. She turned to digital media, where she discovered opportunities that traditional newsrooms could no longer provide.

“Journalism is my passion,” she said. “Even if television channels disappear, I won’t leave this profession. I will continue through freelancing or digital media.”

For Shah, the transition became more than a career move it became a way to survive in a changing media industry. Through digital platforms, she learned video editing, mobile journalism, podcast production, social media storytelling, and multimedia reporting, skills that are increasingly shaping the future of journalism.

“In traditional media, you often spend years doing the same job,” she said. “Digital journalism challenges you to learn new skills every day. It allows journalists to grow instead of standing still.”

She believes audiences have already shifted from television screens to smartphones, consuming news through Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and X. As a result, many established media organizations are also investing heavily in digital platforms.

Although Shah says she would happily return to a professional newsroom if offered fair pay, equal opportunities, and a supportive working environment, she believes journalism is no longer defined by television alone.

For many young journalists in Balochistan, digital media is becoming not only an alternative but a lifeline.

For Sidra Arif, however, the closure of a news bureau meant losing far more than a job.

“When a bureau closes, it doesn’t only affect your income,” she said. “It damages your confidence, your professional identity, and even your personal life.”

Arif believes women are often among the first employees to be affected when media organizations reduce staff.

“Whenever bureaus are downsized, women usually become the easiest targets,” she said. “Management often assumes they can replace female journalists more easily.”

After losing her position, she contacted several media organizations in search of work. Despite years of reporting experience, she found few opportunities.

“Many people appreciated my experience,” she recalled. “But no one was willing to offer me a proper job.”

Like many journalists across Pakistan, Arif considered freelancing. Yet she believes it remains an unrealistic option for many women in Balochistan.

“A freelance journalist has to report, film, edit, write scripts, arrange transport, and often buy equipment,” she explained. “For women living in a conservative society, travelling alone is already difficult. Hiring camera operators or arranging transport makes freelance reporting financially impossible.”

She worries that unless the media industry creates stable employment and safer working conditions, experienced women will continue leaving journalism while fewer young graduates will choose to enter it.

The experiences of Shah and Arif reveal two very different responses to the same crisis. One found new opportunities through digital journalism; the other continues to struggle in an industry offering fewer jobs than ever before. Yet both stories point to the same conclusion: the traditional newsroom is no longer able to provide many women journalists with the security, support, and career growth they once hoped to find.

As the media landscape evolves, the challenge is no longer simply retaining women in journalism. It is ensuring that journalism itself evolves into a profession where women can build lasting, meaningful careers instead of being forced to search for opportunities elsewhere.

Education, Reform, and the Future of Journalism

Every year, universities across Balochistan produce a new generation of journalism and media graduates, many of them women who enter university with the hope of becoming reporters, anchors, or storytellers. Yet for many, a degree does not lead to a newsroom career.

According to Mewish, a media academic, female enrollment in media and communication studies has steadily increased over the past decade. However, the media industry has failed to create enough opportunities for these graduates.

“More women are studying journalism than before,” she said. “But because of shrinking newsrooms, limited employment opportunities, and changing industry demands, many graduates are choosing careers in digital media, public relations, corporate communications, development organizations, teaching, or freelancing instead of traditional journalism.”

She explained that while universities successfully prepare students with practical skills—including mobile journalism, multimedia storytelling, digital verification, media ethics, and AI-assisted reporting—the employment market has not kept pace with the growing number of graduates.

Another major challenge, she noted, is the lack of reliable data tracking journalism graduates after they leave university.

“There is no comprehensive graduate tracking system,” she said. “Universities know how many students graduate, but they often do not know how many actually build careers in journalism.”

According to Mewish, increasing women’s participation in journalism requires more than admitting more female students. Media organizations must also provide safe workplaces, fair salaries, equal career opportunities, mentorship, and effective anti-harassment policies that allow women to remain in the profession.

Rumisa Shah, Coordinator of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in Quetta, believes the gap between education and employment continues to widen. She says that although dozens of young men and women graduate from journalism departments every year, only a small proportion eventually enter professional newsrooms.

She also points out that many graduates now prefer digital journalism, content creation, strategic communications, and development organizations because traditional media no longer offers the stability it once did.

The trend is reflected in higher education across the province. The University of Balochistan, which established its Department of Media Studies in 1987, has produced more than 5,000 journalism and media graduates over the past four decades. Media-related programmes are also offered by Sardar Bahadur Khan Women’s University (SBKWU) and BUITEMS, expanding educational opportunities for aspiring journalists. Yet experts agree that employment opportunities have not grown at the same pace.

For Bushra Siddique, the problem extends beyond salaries and job security. She argues that media organizations often overlook the emotional and psychological impact of reporting from conflict-affected communities.

“Journalists witness terrorism, violence, disasters, and grieving families,” she said. “These experiences leave lasting psychological effects, but there are no counselors, trauma support programmes, or mental health services available in most newsrooms.”

She believes that improving women’s participation in journalism requires practical institutional reforms rather than symbolic commitments. Timely salaries, safe workplaces, proper facilities for women, mental health support, transparent complaint mechanisms, and equal opportunities are all essential if media organizations hope to retain experienced journalists.

The stories of Aqsa Durrani, Abida Kalem, Natasha Shah, Sidra Arif, and many others reveal that women are not leaving journalism because they lack talent or determination. They are leaving because the profession often fails to provide the security, dignity, and support needed to build a sustainable career.

Yet this is not simply a story about loss.

Many women are redefining what it means to be a journalist. Some are building careers through digital platforms, independent storytelling, podcasts, multimedia reporting, and social media. They are proving that journalism is no longer confined to television studios or newspaper offices. It is evolving, and so are the women determined to remain part of it.

The future of journalism in Balochistan will depend not only on attracting more women into the profession but also on creating an environment where they can stay, grow, and lead. Without meaningful reforms, the province risks losing another generation of talented journalists whose voices are essential to telling the stories of communities that are too often overlooked.

For every woman who leaves a newsroom, journalism loses more than an employee—it loses experience, public trust, and perspectives that cannot easily be replaced. The question is no longer whether women belong in journalism. They have already answered that through their work. The real challenge is whether Pakistan’s media industry is prepared to build newsrooms where they can thrive rather than merely survive.