94 girls, boys attempted suicide in Jawzjan’s Darzab last year

SHIBERGHAN (Pajhwok): At least 94 girls and boys attempted suicide by self-immolation and drinking acid in Darzab district of northe Jawzjan province during the past one year, with 15 of them losing lives, an official said on Thursday.

Rahmatullah Hashar, the district administrative chief, told Pajhwok Afghan News 79 individuals got their body organs paralysed due to their suicide attempt.

He said undesirable customs, poverty, joblessness and pressures from militants had badly affected the lives of youngsters in far-flung areas of the province.

Hashar lamented there were no opportunities available for the youth to utilise their energies and make life ideal for themselves. The waste of their valuable time and bleak future encouraged the youth to attempt suicide and other dangerous things, he added.  

He called the figures on suicidal attempts and incidents as authentic, though some families denied sharing such incidents in public due to cultural restrictions and embarrassment in society.

Fazela, 27, a resident of Darzab district, attempted self-immolation, but was rescued and now in terrible condition. She faced violence everyday at the hands of her husband, an aggressive person who beat her daily for no reason.

Maghfirat Samimi, Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) head for Jawzjan, Faryab and Sar-i-Pul provinces, said forced marriages, child marriages and giving girls into marriages to settle a dispute were main natures of violence against women.

She said some girls married in childhood did not understand marital life and when they grew up, they faced multiple problems, which ultimately led to violence and an unhappy life.

Mohammad Rassoul Akhunzada, head of a local council, said Islam strictly prohibited suicide as a sin.

Darzab is 105 kilometers west of Shiberghan, the provincial capital, and is one of the insecure districts.

nh/ma