Attempted suicide cases on the rise in Herat

HERAT CITY (Pajhwok): More than 1,000 people have tried to commit suicide since the beginning of the current solar year in western Heart province, an official said on Wednesday.

Local officials said 85 percent of those attempting suicide for different reasons, including domestic violence, were women.

Dr. Arif Jalali, director of Herat Zonal Hospital, told Pajhwok Afghan News they registered five to 10 attempted suicide cases involving women on a daily basis.

He said of 100 people who committed suicide in the past four month, nine had died. Five committed self-immolation and four others hanged themselves to end it all.

Of those who committed suicide by hanging themselves, taking poisonous substances and committing self-immolation. Five to 10 people died daily, the director added.

Susan Behboodzada, a women right activist, acknowledged the government had launched programmes for reducing violence against women in different parts of the province.

However, she said, such initiatives had failed to yield any result due to the insufficient periods of time such programme had.

Sakina Hussaini, a member of provincial council, also asked the government to conduct longer-term programmes for decreasing violence.

Meanwhile, Jilani Farhad, the governor’s spokesman, told Pajhwok that monitoring committees would be created in near future to investigate attempted suicide cases.

He said the committees would be constituted to promote culture and raise public awareness among people in different parts of the province.

Abdul Qader Rahimi, an official of the Afghanistan Independent Human Right Commission, expressed concern over the increase in suicide cases.

One girl who tried to commit suicide said on condition of anonymity that domestic violence forced her to take the extreme step.

“I did not like to get married but my family forced me to do so. My husband and in-laws would beating me and I had no option but attempt suicide,” she added.

sa/mud