Citation

Tharwani ZH, Essar MY, Farahat RA, Shah J. Lancet Reg. Health Southeast Asia 2023; 8: e100082.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.lansea.2022.100082

PMID

37384139

PMCID

PMC10306022

Abstract

According to World Health Organization (WHO), suicides are globally almost twice as more common among males than in females.1 However, in Afghanistan around 80% of the total suicide attempts (n =3000) are done by women.2 The same fact is supported by an official strategy report by the government of Afghanistan (GoA) which shows that majority of the victims of self-immolation were females (95%) between the ages of 14-19.3 The most important factors for this disparity are the gender-based violence (GBV) against women, forced marriages, lack of awareness of women's rights, the impact of the war, the custom practices such as marriage portion (Tuyana) or (bride price), and family violence.2, 3, 4 The most common methods of suicide in Afghanistan are self-immolation, hanging, drug overdose, and consuming chemicals such as detergent.5 Based on the numbers given by United Nations Population Fund, around 87% of women have been a victim of at least one form of sexual, physical, or psychological violence, and 62% have faced multiple forms of abuse.4

After the Taliban took over in 2021, situations became even worse, as women are currently not allowed to work or receive an education due to the restrictions and cultural norms which adds up to the suffering and leads to a rise in depression among Afghan women.2,6 Even though the Taliban have promised to allow women to get an education and work freely, there have been attacks reported against those who do so.2,6 Due to certain traditional beliefs, social stigmas, and religious misconceptions, women in Afghanistan are prevented from receiving assistance for mental health, which eliminates their only chance of help, thus leading to a higher female suicide rate.2,3 For the same reasons, a lot of families do not report any suicide cases or attempts in their families, either by men or women, which means that not only there is underreporting of the cases but the gender disparity in Afghanistan's suicide rates is also questionable.2,3 Apart from being unable to receive medical attention, if an Afghan woman manages to file a report against violence to seek justice, she is pressurized and threatened by relatives to withdraw the case before the investigation even starts...

Language: en