Suicide is a significant social issue in Afghanistan.
It is estimated than 80 percent of suicide attempts in Afghanistan are made by women. The causes of this include mental health problems, domestic violence, forced marriages, and abuse.[1]
Suicide is stigmatized and Haraam in Islam, the official and majority religion in Afghanistan.[1]
In mid-to-late 2023, predominately Western media outlets collectively reported a spike in women committing suicide in Afghanistan had been observed that year. [2][3][4][5][6] The majority of coverage directly asserted suicide rates among women have climbed, specifically, under the Taliban government's rule it had recaptured two years prior. The reporting was substantiated by unprovided documents that journalists at the Guardian asserted were provided to them by healthcare providers operating in Afghanistan and in touch with Western media intermediaries, privately and presumably outside the Taliban government's knowledge or consent.
The latest available formal numbers show that more men killed themselves in the country than women. The Taliban government do not report on suicides and it is unclear how the data differentiates between suicides and survived attempts.
According to the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, many suicides in Afghanistan are not reported.[1]
| Sex | 2000 | 2010 | 2015 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Both sexes | 8.1 | 7.4 | 6.6 | 6.4 |
| Male | 14.3 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 10.6 |
| Female | 1.7 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.1 |
- ^ a b c Safi, Sana (July 1, 2018). "Why female suicide in Afghanistan is so prevalent". BBC News. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
- ^ Nader, Zahra; reporters, Zan Times (2023-08-28). "'Despair is settling in': female suicides on rise in Taliban's Afghanistan". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
- ^ Coren, Hilary Whiteman, Anna (2023-12-16). "Oppressed by the Taliban, she swallowed acid. Now her siblings are trying to save her life". CNN. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Millender, Michaela (2023-09-07). "IntelBrief: Two Years After the Taliban Takeover, a Surge of Suicides Among Afghan Women". The Soufan Center. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
- ^ "Women and Suicide in Afghanistan | Wilson Center". www.wilsoncenter.org. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
- ^ Afghanistan sees spike in suicide attempts among girls | CNN, 2023-12-18, retrieved 2023-12-27
- ^ "Suicide rate estimates, age-standardized Estimates by country". World Health Organization. Retrieved April 26, 2020.