Rise in Afghan Girls’ Suicides: Fareeda: “Forgive me; I don’t want to breathe anymore!”
“My mother and sisters! Forgive me; I can’t bear it anymore; living as a girl here means just breathing, and I don’t want to breathe anymore!”
These are the words of a 19-year-old Afghan girl, Fareeda (pseudonym), who committed suicide in December 2024. Fareeda was an 11th grade student at a school in Kabul. According to her family, Fareeda wanted to become a skilled engineer in the future, but now she has taken that dream to the grave with her.
Fareeda’s mother told Tawazon: “When I read Fareeda’s letter, I rushed to her, shook her, and said, ‘Wake up; you’ve slept too much; drink some tea; take your medicine,’ but she didn’t open her eyes, nor did she respond. I took her to the nearest hospital; the doctors said she had passed away an hour ago.”
Fareeda’s mother, heartbroken by the loss of her young daughter, tearfully adds: “After the schools were closed, it had a very negative impact on her mental health; we took her to a psychologist at the end of 2023, but the medications and therapy sessions did not improve her condition; she had attempted suicide several times.”
Meanwhile, 15-year-old Mahriya (pseudonym), a ninth-grade student from Panjshir province, also committed suicide in December 2024.
Mahriya’s family members say she had many dreams for her future and thought she would become a pilot, but she took this unfulfilled dream to the grave.
Mahriya’s sister, Maryam (pseudonym), says: “Before committing suicide, she was very sad and used to spend the whole day lost in her thoughts. One day, our mother entered her room and started screaming. When we arrived, we saw Mahriya lying on the ground with foam in her mouth. We took her to the hospital, but she passed away on the way.”
According to Maryam, besides Mahriya, two other sisters were also prevented from continuing their education after the Taliban’s return.
Fareeba (pseudonym), a resident of Badakhshan, also committed suicide in October 2024 by consuming rat poison. Fareeba’s family attributes her suicide to the Taliban’s ban on girls’ education.
Fareeba’s sister, Nageena, told Tawazon: “My sister loved studying. She was in the ninth grade when Taliban came to power. She used to go out with her friends and attend English and computer courses in the afternoon, but Taliban stopped everything, and she became very hopeless; she used to cry every day. Our economic situation was not good enough to take her to a doctor, but we didn’t know she would kill herself.”
Several international organizations and women’s rights activists say that since the Taliban’s return to power, the number of suicides among women and girls in Afghanistan is increasing daily.
Women’s rights activist Nargis Sadat says: “Women and girls are now imprisoned by Taliban and have no access to any facilities. Therefore, the number of suicides among women in Afghanistan has increased. Women resort to this desperate act because they feel they are redundant in society and have no other way out.”
Another women’s rights activist, Monesa Mubarez, says: “In a society where all paths are blocked for women, there is no other way left but suicide. Although Ms. Mubarez considers suicide a terrible act, she says Afghan women are under severe psychological pressure, which leads them making such drastic decisions.”
Monesa says: “All paths are now closed for women in Afghanistan. They have been removed from political and social structures; they have been deprived of work; the doors of education have been closed to them; they cannot even move freely in cities and markets. They cannot go to parks, and poverty has also increased in front of them. Additionally, women are facing psychological pressure, and all these factors have increased the number of suicides among women.”
The ongoing unequal situation against women in Afghanistan and the increasing restrictions and bans imposed by the Taliban on Afghan women have worried women’s rights activists. They urge the international community to increase pressure on the Taliban to lift the bans on women’s work and education.
Meanwhile, The Guardian published a report this year expressing concerns from the United Nations and human rights organizations about the rise in suicides among girls and women in Afghanistan.
The report states that data collected from government hospitals and clinics show that “since the summer of 2021, the number of suicides among girls and women has increased in one-third of Afghanistan’s provinces, particularly in Nimroz and Herat provinces.”
Although the newspaper did not disclose the exact number of these suicide incidents, it mentioned that Taliban have not allowed Afghan health personnel to release the statistics of suicide cases.
The newspaper quoted Alison Davidian, head of the women’s section of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), saying: “In the current situation, Afghan girls and women prefer death over life.”
Earlier, in the summer of this year, Middle East Monitor reported that 250 suicide cases were recorded in Afghanistan last year, of which 188 were women.
The publication quoted Maryam Erwin, head of an organization supporting women and children, saying that 9 to 11 suicide cases are recorded every month, most of which are young girls. According to the publication, the actual number of suicides may be much higher than the reported figures.
Erwin stated that most suicide cases occurred in Takhar, Kunduz, Bamyan, Badghis, Faryab, Mazar-i-Sharif, Herat, and other northern and northwestern regions.
Richard Bennett, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan, pointed out that the ban on girls’ education in health institutions has led to an rise in suicide cases among girls.
In an interview with “Education Cannot Wait” on November 18, 2024, Richard Bennett said: “The ban on girls’ education above the sixth grade has had a detrimental impact on Afghan girls. They see that opportunities for their future are completely limited to their homes, and thousands of girls are suffering from severe depression due to early and forced marriages.”
He added: “Self-harm, suicide, and suicidal thoughts have dramatically increased among girls.” Bennett emphasized again during a conference in Geneva on November 28, where he met with several Afghan women, human rights activists, and representatives of European countries, that the Taliban’s “oppressive regime” is leading to rise in girls’ inclination towards suicide.
On the other hand, psychologists attribute the increase in suicide cases among women to severe depression. They say that after the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan, women who previously had social activities are now confined to their homes, which has severely affected their mental health and even led to suicide.
Clinical psychologist Mohammad Safa Farzai says: “Women need to pull themselves out of this situation because, in her opinion, suicide is not a solution. He adds: “They should read more books, study, and keep themselves busy with various activities at home. Additionally, women should find ways to stand up to problems, and in this way, they can cope with mental and psychological issues.”
Although the Taliban has not released exact statistics on recent suicide cases in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Interior Affairs stated on February 14, 2023, that “360 suicide cases were recorded across Afghanistan in the past year.” The Taliban’s Ministry of Interior Affairs also claimed that the number of suicide cases in Afghanistan has decreased compared to previous years.
During the previous Islamic Republic regime, reports of suicide cases in Afghanistan were also provided, and the main causes were family problems and violence. However, after the Taliban’s takeover, it is believed that the increase in suicide cases among Afghan girls and women is largely due to the restrictions and bans imposed by the Taliban on women and girls. In contrast, the main causes of suicide among men are mostly unemployment and poverty.
