Alarming increase in suicides among Afghan women; “Suicide is not the solution” campaign launched
Following the increase in suicides among Afghan women in recent weeks, including the suicide of a young Afghan girl in Pakistan and the self-immolation of Abida in Ghor province, a new campaign titled “Suicide is not the solution” has been launched.
Mina Rafiq, an Afghan women’s rights activist, released a video asking the people of Afghanistan and so-called “freedom seekers” to join the campaign. She said in her message: “Join us in one voice; suicide is not the solution. We will fight against all injustice and gender discrimination and we will succeed.”
Referring to the difficult conditions of women in Afghanistan, Ms. Rafiq added: “Women live in a system of gender apartheid. Many of them become weak and cry; But the only solution is struggle.”
She emphasized that despite all the problems, Afghan women are not so helpless as to commit suicide due to the pressures of “patriarchy” and “religious peddling.”
The campaign comes as widespread restrictions on women in Afghanistan, following the Taliban’s return to power, have fueled widespread concerns about women’s mental health and social status.
