Pakistan’s untold war: No justice for Balochistan’s disappeared

This is a piece of data storytelling written by Somaiyah Hafeez for Kontinentalist. It is one of the first data-driven articles on the topic of enforced disappearances in Balochistan, a region in Pakistan.

A data visualisation illustrating the road to justic for victims' families.

I designed and illustrated a data visualisation meant to take readers through the arduous process that relatives had been through in order to investigate what happened to their disappeared loved ones.

An illustration of 8 panels of various sizes, with illustrations of a dark moon in the night, surveillance cameras, a long shadow cast on a man shielding himself from the night, a hand lying in liquid, and a pair of watchful eyes.
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A moodboard reflecting various sources of visual inspiration.

The vivid colours, diamond and embroidery motifs used in the data visualisations and illustrations were inspired by the pashk, a traditional dress worn by many Baloch women. Many activists campaigning for the release of forcefully disappeared people are women, and were often photographed in the pashk.

Studio

Kontinentalist

Writer

Somaiyah Hafeez

Editor

Zafirah Zein

Designer

Griselda Gabriele

Data Design Illustration