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Julius
Joined: 27 Jul 2006
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 Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2010 7:37 pm Post subject: Afghan women choose suicide over abuse |
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Afghan women choose suicide over abuse
Canadian Press, January 7th
More Afghan women are choosing suicide to escape the violence and brutality of their daily lives, says a new human-rights report prepared by Canada's Foreign Affairs Department.
The 2008 annual assessment paints a grim picture of a country where violence against women and girls is common.
"Self-immolation is being used by increasing numbers of Afghan women to escape their dire circumstances and women constitute the majority of Afghan suicides," said the report, completed in November 2009.
The director of a burn unit at a hospital in the relatively peaceful province of Herat reported that in 2008 more than 80 women tried to kill themselves by setting themselves on fire, many of them in the early 20s.
"Rape is widely believed to be a frequent occurrence, though its true extent is concealed by under-reporting owing to the social stigma attached to it," says the 31-page partly censored document.
The Afghan practice of "honour killings" has been cited as a major problem by both the Canadian Foreign Affairs Department and the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights.
The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission said it has "recorded 76 cases of honour killings in 2008, but the actual number is believed by local embassies and NGOs (non-governmental organizations) to be much higher."
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2010/01/06/12371241-cp.html |
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NovaKart
Joined: 18 Nov 2009
Location: Iraq
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| Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 2:48 am Post subject: |
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| I wonder why they choose such a painful way to commit suicide. Im guessing they want people to take notice of their death. One problem with people burning themselves to death in suicide is that the fire will often spread and cause other deaths. I saw a case of that in the newspaper in China and heard about a similar thing happening in Thailand. |
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Fox
Joined: 04 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 2:58 am Post subject: |
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| NovaKart wrote: |
| I wonder why they choose such a painful way to commit suicide. |
Probably for the same reason women are more likely to choose a multitude of other ineffective means of committing suicide: they want to be stopped. Burning yourself to death gives plenty of time for people to step in and save you, first while you're gathering all the things required, and then after you actually begin. The article mentions 80 women trying to burn themselves to death, for example, which implies to me that they failed.
These suicides seem more like cries for help than an actual desire to die. In light of the way their lives are, it's not surprising that they'd be making such cries. If they really wanted to just die, as you say there are far better ways to go about it, both in terms of probability of success and in terms of minimizing pain.
Alternatively maybe death by immolation has some special religious or cultural factor to it, I suppose. |
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Julius
Joined: 27 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 3:41 am Post subject: |
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| Fox wrote: |
If they really wanted to just die, as you say there are far better ways to go about it, both in terms of probability of success and in terms of minimizing pain.
Alternatively maybe death by immolation has some special religious or cultural factor to it, I suppose. |
I think its viewed as a public form of protest. The extreme pain is a measure of both contempt and desperation, ie they would rather undergo extreme pain than continue living with their husbands.
I hope all the extra troops can make a difference out there but ultimately a better future will depend on cultural change. ...ie turning away from islam. |
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tfunk
Joined: 12 Aug 2006
Location: Dublin, Ireland
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| Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 12:08 pm Post subject: |
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| Julius wrote: |
I hope all the extra troops can make a difference.... |
http://ubspectrum.com/article/40996
Suicide is a complicated aspect of every society and not a problem that can simply be shot to death. |
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Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 2:29 pm Post subject: |
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| NovaKart wrote: |
| I wonder why they choose such a painful way to commit suicide. Im guessing they want people to take notice of their death. One problem with people burning themselves to death in suicide is that the fire will often spread and cause other deaths. I saw a case of that in the newspaper in China and heard about a similar thing happening in Thailand. |
I am not sure, but in both Iran and Afghanistan this kind of suicide is not unknown. It's a very old form of suicide. I've heard of this happening for a long time in Iran. In Afghanistan, you have this opening up of the country somewhat while other forces are trying to keep it socially repressed and keep the old order. In such a situation, there will be many victims. I feel horrible for those women who committed suicide. It's a sad, painful way to go. The women who do this know that people have a life where they are not forced to marry this or that person, but feel they can't escape, so they decide to kill themselves. The families claim in some cases that it was just an accident, and people sometimes take drugs to ease the pain of self-immolation.
http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/article.aspx?id=873
This link explains in more detail what's going on. In Iran, even some men have done this, but its mostly females who do this. |
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NovaKart
Joined: 18 Nov 2009
Location: Iraq
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| Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2010 3:32 am Post subject: |
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| This actually reminds me of the Buddhist monks who would commit suicide by burning themselves in South Vietnam during the war. It was done in public as a protest against Ngo Dinh Diem's treatment of Buddhists. And his wife responded with "If the Buddhists want to have another barbecue, I will be glad to supply the gasoline." |
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Julius
Joined: 27 Jul 2006
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